Written Answers Nos. 368-380
368. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority has raised any concerns regarding the effective monitoring and enforcement of super-trawlers whilst in Irish waters; if any discussions have been held between his Department and the SFPA in relation to same, including the provision of inspectors or observers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14432/23]
View answer369. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he or his Department have had any discussions regarding the effective monitoring and enforcement of super-trawlers whilst in Irish waters with EU counterparts, including the provision of inspectors or observers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14433/23]
View answer370. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will make a request to the EU Council regarding the establishment of a control observer scheme, as provided for under regulation, to enable the on-board monitoring of factory vessels whilst in Irish waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14434/23]
View answer371. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will outline the process by which a fishing vessel may be inspected by a Sea Fisheries Protection officer; whether the SFPA can request the Naval Service for such an inspection to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14435/23]
View answer372. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of inspections of fishing vessels that have been undertaken by the Naval Service in each of the past 20 years; the number of those vessels that were factory boats; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14436/23]
View answer373. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of fishery patrol days by the Naval Service in each of the past 20 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14437/23]
View answer376. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of factory vessels, including their size ranges that were recorded as being present in Irish waters in each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14440/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373 and 376 together.
The monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland’s Exclusive Fisheries Zone are matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006, all operational issues of this nature concerning sea fisheries control are, as a matter of law, exclusively for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and the Naval Service.
As Minister, I am precluded from getting involved in operational matters including in relation to law enforcement. Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy’s queries to SFPA for attention and direct reply.
Questions Nos. 369 to 373, inclusive, taken with No. 368.
374. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the implementation of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority capability review; how many of the 46 recommendations have been completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14438/23]
View answerResponsibility for the implementation of the recommendations of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) capability review rests solely with the SFPA, which is an independent agency as set down in the 2006 Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006.
My Department has provided significant additional resources to the SFPA in recent years to strengthen the organisation and ensure that it delivers to a high standard on its core responsibilities.
I am accordingly forwarding the Deputy's question for direct response by the SFPA Authority.
375. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether an advisory board, nominated by his Department, comprising members with expertise and/or professional experience in senior administration, public sector governance requirements and management has been put in place for the SFPA; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14439/23]
View answerFollowing the publication of the Organisation Critical Review report by the SFPA in April 2020, my Department nominated a 3-person independent advisory board, with expertise and/or professional experienced in senior administration, public sector governance requirements and management, not related to the sectors regulated by the SFPA, to assist the SFPA management in strengthening the capabilities of the organisation. This advisory board has no legal responsibility and is solely advisory in nature.
Question No. 376 taken with No. 368.
377. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 183 of 7 March 2023, the area of land covered by gorse and heather and so on, that has been burned nationwide; how many tonnes of CO2 have been released into the atmosphere from the period, 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023; if this CO2 is included in agricultural emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14455/23]
View answerThe burning of agricultural land, containing heather and gorse, is an issue that concerns several Government Departments and Agencies.
Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976, as amended; specifies that the burning of vegetation growing on uncultivated land cannot be undertaken during the nesting and breeding season for birds and wildlife, from 1 March to 31 August. In addition, burning within 1 mile of a wood carries certain restrictions under section 39 of the Wildlife Act. It is a function of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to secure the conservation of wildlife.
Activities requiring consent (ARCs) are specific activities which have the potential to damage a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) or Special Protection Area (SPA) collectively known as European sites. SACs and SPAs are areas designated due to the presence of important habitats or species. ARCs are not prohibited activities but before being carried out, consent must be granted by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage or by another relevant public authority to which the consent function for that activity falls. The burning of uncultivated lands is one such ARC which may apply to European sites which have been designated for habitats or species within certain broad habitat and species groups.
In terms of agricultural emissions, the EPA publishes estimates of greenhouse gas emissions associated with biomass burning annually in the National Inventory Report (NIR). The latest published NIR was submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in April 2022 for the years 1990-2020 and work is currently underway to finalise the 1990-2021 Inventory submission for April 2023. No data has yet been compiled for the reference period requested (1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023).
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine does not currently have data relating to burning of gorse and heather in the period 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023. However, my Department is working with Government Agencies and other Government Departments to improve our understanding of this issue and the area impacted in this period. This information will be collated in the coming weeks.
378. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a laboratory (details supplied), based in County Limerick, is currently operational; if not, when it was shut down; the reason for its closure; the steps being taken to make it operational again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14463/23]
View answerRásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for RCÉ and, therefore, the question has been referred to the body for direct reply.
379. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if dairy farmers who are excluded from grant-aid for milking machines and dairy equipment, are eligible for grant-aid for the milking parlour buildings under TAMS 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14486/23]
View answerI have introduced some changes to TAMS under the TAMS 3 scheme to better align it with overall agriculture and environmental priorities. For applications under the Dairy Equipment Capital Investment Scheme, Women Farmers Capital Investment Scheme and Organic Capital Investment Scheme, applicants may apply for up to 10 milking units in a herringbone parlour, or one robotic milking machine, if they have less than 120 cows on average over the year preceding the making of an application.
For applicants under the Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS) and also for registered farm partnerships involving a young farmer, the limit on cow numbers for the preceding year is set at 160 dairy cows.
I can also confirm that the limit relates only to the milking machine investments and does not apply to any other investments under any of the 10 Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS 3) that are being put in place.
When a farmer is planning to update their system, investment in the milking machine is only a portion of the required investment. It is important that dairy farmers also invest in animal housing, slurry storage, fodder storage and making their holding more accessible. To this end the TAMS schemes are designed to encourage farmers to invest in these animal welfare and environmentally beneficial investments before investing in additional milking equipment. In addition to the investments being carried over from TAMS II there is a wide range of additional investments being introduced for farmers, including farm roadways, bovine fencing, health and fertility monitoring systems, automatic drafting systems, public road underpasses and milk recording systems, to name just a few.
380. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will urgently open a round of GLAS to accommodate the 14,000 farmers who have not been able to apply to the ACRES scheme but were part of GLAS in previous years. [14504/23]
View answerThe Green Low Carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS) was the main agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. GLAS is closed and may not be re-opened, as there is a new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in place for the period 2023 to 2027.
Each Member State was accordingly required to prepare a new CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) in which it outlined the range of interventions it would put in place to address the various CAP objectives. The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is the current agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s CSP and is the successor to GLAS.
The Government has committed €1.5 billion to ACRES over its duration with the aim of- facilitating the participation of 50,000 farmers. Like GLAS, intake into ACRES is being phased, with at least two tranches. Approval letter issued recently to all valid applications submitted for Tranche 1 of the Scheme.
I was pleased recently to provide for intake of 46,000 farmers into ACRES for 2023. The final year of GLAS also had just over 46,000 participants so there is no real difference in the amount of farmers participating.
Farmers who were not in a position to apply for Tranche 1 of ACRES will have an opportunity to apply for the Scheme in Tranche 2. It is proposed that Tranche 2 will open for applications later this year with contracts in that Tranche to commence from 1 January 2024.
