Written Answers Nos. 407-414
407. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the current or expected status regarding applications for citizenship in the case of persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24001/23]
View answerThere is no record of the applications referred to by the Deputy being received by my Department. However there is a small batch of applications that are yet to be registered and I am assured that these will be dealt with shortly.
If the Deputy wishes to provide the postal tracking reference number and the date of posting of the applications via my Department's Oireachtas mail facility, I will arrange for a further search of the applications on hand and provide a further response to the Deputy.
When an application for a certificate of naturalisation is received by the Citizenship Division of my Department, they are subject to an initial check and examination.
On completion of the initial checks, my Department will assign an application number and issue an acknowledgment to the address given at the time of making the application.
I am deeply conscious of how important the granting of naturalisation is to those who apply for it and my Department has continued to accept and process citizenship applications throughout the pandemic and during all levels of public health restrictions.
My Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and a number of digitisation measures have been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eTax clearance, eVetting and online payments. The end result of the digitisation process will be to free up more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, to improve service to our customers and reduce waiting times.
In early 2023, a registration unit was established within Citizenship Division to ensure applications are registered and acknowledged promptly. In 2022 it took on average seven months for this part of the process to be completed. Under the new system it has been reduced to a matter of weeks.
These measures are designed to give certainty to customers that their applications have been received and have begun to be processed. However, I can assure you that all naturalisation applications will be processed based upon the date that they are received and not based on when they are registered. Applications for naturalisation are dealt with in chronological order.
408. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice when a person (details supplied) might expect an outcome regarding an application for naturalisation in the case of his son; if all the details requested have been received in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24002/23]
View answerThe naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.
A request to complete eVetting was sent to the person concerned on 24 March 2023. This request was not completed and has now since expired. Citizenship Division will re-issue the eVetting link again to the person in the coming days.
The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.
I understand the extended wait times can be frustrating for applicants and my Department has been working hard to clear backlogs.
It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. However, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.
My Department is taking a number of steps to speed up the processing of applications and a number of digitisation measures have been introduced to increase efficiency in the process, including eVetting and online payments. The end result of the digitisation process will be to free up more staff to focus on processing applications in a timely and efficient manner, to improve service to our customers and reduce waiting times.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility at: INISOireachtasMail@justice.ie, which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Question process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in the cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
409. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address the needs of tillage farmers (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23730/23]
View answerI understand the difficulties being faced by tillage farmers this year with high production costs and lower grain prices. While early estimates from industry suggest that there may be a reduction in the tillage area this season, I will await analysis of the the BISS data later in the Summer to give an accurate picture of overall crop areas.
Notwithstanding the above, maintaining the current tillage area with an ambition for further growth is an important strategic objective of my Department. This is highlighted in the Food Vision 2030 Strategy and more recently in the Climate Action Plan where a target has been set to grow the area under tillage crops to 400,000ha by 2030.
To achieve this objective, I recently established the Food Vision 2030 Tillage Group, and I addressed its first meeting on Thursday, 11 May 2023. This group will bring together all relevant stakeholders to set out a roadmap for the sustainable growth and development of the sector to 2030. I have tasked the group with providing a detailed plan and recommendations by the end of July with a final plan to be submitted during the final quarter of 2023.
Last year, through the Tillage Incentive Scheme which I set up, we saw the area under tillage grow by between 6% and 7%. I have also created the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) which sees farmers earn up to €10,000 for incorporating straw into the soil. I have also more than doubled the budget for the Protein Aid to €7 million to support the growing of protein crops. I have backed tillage farmers and I will continue to back them.
The issues you have raised will be discussed in detail by this group and I will consider the group‘s recommendations when they are forwarded to me in due course.
410. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of non-coursing greyhounds born in 2022 that were entered on a system (details supplied) in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23741/23]
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.
411. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of non-coursing greyhounds born in 2022 that were entered on a system (details supplied) in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23742/23]
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.
412. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the cause of death of the 1,543 non-coursing greyhounds listed as deceased on a system (details supplied) in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23743/23]
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.
413. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of carbon dioxide his Department have failed to capture due to missing afforestation targets during the lifetime of the last forestry programme 2015-2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23934/23]
View answerMy Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine does not engage in afforestation. This is a voluntary activity by private landowners, supported by the Government. The national forest estate is expanding and has reached 11.6% of total land area. The total land area has increased from 697,842 hectares in 2006 to 808,848 hectares in 2022. as verified in the National Forest Inventory. The increase is due to both grant aided afforestation and natural regeneration.
Over the period 2015-22, the target afforestation area was 59,410 ha. During this period 32,628 ha of lands were afforested under the schemes in the Forestry programme. An estimated 22,834 ha of new forest were created from natural regeneration. It is important to remember that the schemes are demand-led and the volume of applications in the latter years of the programme have been lower than expected.
In calculating sequestration from planted forests a mean annual sequestration rate of 6.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare for the conifer species is used and 2.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per hectare for planted broadleaf forests.
Ireland’s forests and harvested wood products play a significant role in climate change mitigation by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration by forests is influenced by a range of factors including species, soil type, site conditions and management practices. When forests are young the sequestration rate is low but as the trees mature their ability to sequester carbon dioxide increases.
My Department proactively assists and supports the development of Irish forestry through the national forestry programme, with some €74 million of expenditure in 2022. There has been a significant increase in the premiums available and the duration of premiums has increased from 15 years to 20 years in the proposed new Forestry Programme. Last year, my Department issued licences for almost 5,000 hectares of land to be planted.
As a result of the enhanced grants and premiums I am very hopeful that planting rates will increase over the coming years. The Department will also support promotional initiatives which will encourage landowners to consider forestry as a viable use of land. There are many land-use options available and forestry will be a strong option for many landowners.
414. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if those persons can be accommodated adequately elsewhere; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23708/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth is responsible for providing accommodation and related supports to people in the protection process, and is endeavouring to accommodate those applicants not yet provided with accommodation as soon as possible. The International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) of that Department records those persons it has not yet been able to accommodate and provides a range of supports to take account of these circumstances.
Along with other members of Government I am of course concerned at the incidents referred to and am assured by the Garda Commissioner that these are receiving the appropriate policing attention.
It is important to say that so many communities across Ireland have demonstrated great solidarity to those who come here seeking protection.
There have been a number of protests recently, and there is a small minority whose intentions are to create division and are engaging in intimidation rather than protest at these events.
I am assured by the Garda authorities that, as with any protest, the policing approach is predicated on keeping people safe, preventing any anti-social and criminal behaviour and traffic management, where appropriate. We have seen recently that An Garda Síochána will deploy an increased presence where they deem it necessary.
An Garda Síochána continue to provide an effective policing response to known and impromptu protests to ensure public safety, and I know that Garda management keep these matters under continual review.
