Written Answers Nos. 477-490
478. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider extending the liming scheme until March 2024, taking into account the exceptional wet summer and soil saturation directly affecting 25,000 farmers who have applied for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42298/23]
View answer479. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider lime suppliers from the North of Ireland for approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42299/23]
View answer480. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider an upward adjustment to the €8 million allocated for the lime scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42300/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 478, 479 and 480 together.
The Liming Programme was introduced by my Department to incentivise the use of Lime a natural soil conditioner, which corrects soil acidity by neutralising the acids that are present in the soil.
Almost 41,000 applications were received from farmers seeking to participate in the Programme. In response to this phenomenal level of interest, in August I secured and announced a doubling of the budget for the Programme.
This budget increase facilitated approval for up to 40 tonnes of lime per eligible applicant.
Earlier this year the Terms and Conditions for the Programme we amended to include provision for quarries located in Northern Ireland to supply lime under the Liming Programme, provided they meet the minimum specification for liming material as set out under S.I. No. 248/1978.
The closing date for receipt of claims under the Liming Programme is 31 October. The Programme itself is funded by the National Exchequer as part of a once-off set of measures for 2023 in response to the situation in Ukraine. There is currently no funding provision available to extend the Programme into 2024.
481. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to review correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42335/23]
View answerAlong with Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsibility for the sector, it is my aim to deliver a licensing system which meets the needs of the forestry sector at all stages of the licencing process. This is regardless of whether that application comes from a private individual, a forest owner or Coillte. We recognise that each licence has a value, particularly to the rural economy, where the timber is harvested, transported and processed.
The equal treatment of all licence applications is borne out by the figures from 2023 and 2022. To date in 2023, my Department has issued 1,132 Coillte felling licences and 1,176 private felling licences (49%/51%, respectively).
Since the beginning of July 2023, we have issued 427 Coillte licences and 300 private licences (59%/41%). The number of felling licences issuing in any one period depends on many factors, including when they were received and their relative complexity.
The issuing of felling licences is demand-led, and the level of demand is indicated by the number of licence applications made. To date we received 1,446 tree felling licence applications, split between 750 Coillte and 696 private applications (52%/48% respectively).
482. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of data breaches experienced by his Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023. [42359/23]
View answerThe numbers of data breaches recorded by my Department, since 2016, are as outlined in the table below. It should be noted that no records of data breaches were maintained before this time. The current operational procedure is that the majority of low-risk data breaches are not reported to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in line with DPC guidance on this issue.
|
2016 |
05 |
|
2017 |
10 |
|
2018 |
35 |
|
2019 |
50 |
|
2020 |
54 |
|
2021 |
84 |
|
2022 |
62 |
|
2023 (to date) |
68 |
483. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware that Greyhound Racing Ireland has stopped publishing control committee reports and control appeal committee reports on its website (details supplied); and if he will provide copies of the relevant reports from August 2022 to date. [42450/23]
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.
484. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for details about the six exclusion orders issued by Greyhound Racing Ireland in 2022; the names of the individuals involved; the exclusion durations; the circumstances or breaches which led to the exclusion orders; and if any of the cases were referred to the Garda for investigation. [42437/23]
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.
485. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for a breakdown, in tabular form, of the grants paid by Greyhound Racing Ireland to private tracks in 2022; the names of the tracks; the amounts granted; and the purpose of the payments. [42438/23]
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.
486. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide details, in tabular form, of the greyhound track attendance statistics for 2022 and to date in 2023, covering both Greyhound Racing Ireland tracks and private tracks, and including a breakdown of the figures into type of entry (paid entry, free entry, entry by adults, children, staff, owners or trainers, bookmakers, press, and so on) and type of event (racing, trials, sales, and non-racing events). [42439/23]
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.
487. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of greyhounds injured in racing, trials and sales events to date in 2023; the type of each injury; the date and location where they occurred; the number killed outright or euthanised by track vets; the number and causes of additional racing fatalities; and the results of any related post-mortems. [42440/23]
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.
488. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount paid out annually by Greyhound Racing Ireland under the injury scheme and track injury support scheme; the percentage of treatment costs covered by the schemes; the number of injured greyhounds treated; the amounts claimed by owners or trainers; the types of injuries suffered; and the dates and locations where the injuries were sustained. [42441/23]
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.
489. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of greyhounds euthanised by track vets at races or trials in the past five years that were greyhounds who suffered treatable injuries; the person who decides if a greyhound is treated or euthanised; and whether greyhound owners are charged the veterinary costs associated with euthanising the dogs. [42442/23]
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.
490. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what plans he and his Department have to renew or offer a long-term lease which will expire soon at a building (details supplied) in Howth, County Dublin, that is currently operating as a seafood retail outlet and training centre, in conjunction with Bord Iascaigh Mhara; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42449/23]
View answerThe lease referred to by the Deputy expires on 1 September 2024. I am advised that Bord Iascaigh Mhara has no formal agreement with the lease holder and is an occasional user of facilities available at the property.
The current tenant submitted a business case in support of their request for renewal of their current lease. This request for renewal of the current lease is currently under active consideration by my Department and my officials will engage directly with the tenant on the matter.
