Written Answers Nos. 307-314
307. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the current position in the application for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3669/24]
View answerThe naturalisation application from the person referred to by the Deputy continues to be processed by my Department.
Officials in Citizenship Division have advised that they have not requested a copy of the passport of the person concerned. They have, however, requested an updated email address, so that the person cited can commence eVetting.
The applicant should contact Citizenship directly at Citizenshipinfo@justice.ie, or perhaps the Deputy can provide this information to the INIS Oireachtas Mail system of my Department who will facilitate passing on the information.
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.
My Department has recently moved from paper to online based citizenship applications. This is one of a number of measures introduced in an effort to optimise the application process and enhance the overall customer service experience. As part of the new online process, customers are issued with an acknowledgment on submission of the online application. The forms provide a seamless application process and help guide applicants through what is required for an application.
Finally, I can advise the Deputy that the Citizenship Division of my Department intends to communicate regularly with all applicants on a quarterly basis into the future.
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.
308. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice if and when arrangements can be made for the renewal of Stamp 4 in the case of persons (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3673/24]
View answerThe persons referred to by the Deputy both held a Stamp 4 immigration permission, which expired on 20 July 2023 and 25 July 2023 respectively. Online registration renewal applications were submitted on 15 July 2023. Further documentation was requested from the persons concerned. However, the renewal has remained pending as no further documentation was provided.
Registration Office management have reviewed the case and taken a decision to process the renewals on the basis of historical records as an exceptional measure. Updated Irish Residence Permits cards will issue to the individuals concerned in due course.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by email 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 email service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
309. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the procedure to be followed for renewal of Stamp 1 in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3674/24]
View answerImmigration officials of my Department have checked their records and have advised that they cannot locate any application for the person referred to by the Deputy. If the Deputy can provide any additional information, I will arrange for a further response to issue to the Deputy.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to my Department by email 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 email service except in cases where the response is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
310. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the systems in place within Greyhound Racing Ireland to ensure any individual with a court-ordered ban from owning, keeping or breeding dogs for a specified period of time will be disqualified from owning and racing greyhounds at Irish race meets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3451/24]
View answer311. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether Greyhound Racing Ireland will consider imposing a lifetime ban on any member found guilty in the courts of cruelty to an animal, as an organisation (details supplied) does; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3452/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 310 and 311 together.
Rásaíocht 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.
312. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 116 of 20 April 2023, if he will outline the progress to facilitate farmers trading carbon credits; if he intends to establish a verifiable framework to record and manage net carbon sequestration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3524/24]
View answerCarbon Farming is a potential enabler in assisting the agricultural and land use sectors in meeting Ireland’s climate targets as set out in its most recent Climate Action Plan (2024) as well as providing a potential new income stream for farmers in the future.
To support the development of a National Carbon Farming Framework, my Department is working with EIT Climate KIC on a Flagship project on ‘Valorisation of Ecosystem Services’.
My Department also held a public consultation in September 2023 on Carbon Farming and positive feedback was received from stakeholders regarding the opportunity to diversify farm income. Stakeholders were supportive of an approach that included carbon removal, greenhouse gas reductions and biodiversity measures in a National Carbon Farming Framework. Furthermore, stakeholders considered it important that the Framework supports and compliments the environmental measures within the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
In parallel with the public consultation, I established the Carbon Farming Working Group to oversee the development of the Framework. Key areas of focus include identifying existing knowledge relevant to the establishment of baseline data, making recommendations for pathways to address knowledge gaps, assessing future auditing requirements including the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of carbon removals/reductions, the development of voluntary carbon codes and the identification of best practice governance structures.
Nationally, there are knowledge and data gaps that will need to be bridged to support carbon farming and that is why I have identified and funded a number of key research and demonstration activities that will also help to provide baseline information on key activities within the agricultural and land use sectors. By way of example, Teagasc have recently launched a country wide network of Signpost Farms to showcase how best practice management techniques can be adopted on a wide range of enterprises and soil types.
A National Carbon Farming Framework is a necessary first step to support our farmers/land managers in the areas of carbon removal, emission reductions, and ecosystem services. In the meantime, I will continue to provide financial support for farmers providing eco system services through a variety of EU and nationally funded schemes.
313. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action his Department is taking to address the issue with the AgFood Portal during December 2023 wherein key features in BISS were not accessible including the correspondence, in view that applicants who may have received correspondence from the Department in respect of BISS, CRISS and CISYF applications during this time did not receive a text alert or have access to their correspondence in BISS on their account on the AgFood Portal and were therefore unaware of the correspondence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3533/24]
View answer314. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what assistance, if any, his Department is providing to those effected by the technical issue with the AgFood Portal which occurred during December 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3534/24]
View answer315. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what action his Department is taking to ensure that applicants who use the AgFood Portal are aware that there was a technical issue with the portal during December 2023, in view that time-sensitive correspondence may have been issued during this timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3535/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 313, 314 and 315 together.
My Department are not aware of any technical issues having occurred with the Ag Food portal during December. Technical issues related to correspondence have neither been raised by customers with our helpdesk nor been raised during our regular engagement with farm advisory bodies.
Officials from my Department have been in contact with the Deputy regarding specific individual cases that had been raised, and with those individual applicants who had queries regarding correspondence related to ongoing applications. Clarifications were provided to the individuals involved and those cases will be processed for payment as soon as all relevant outstanding documentation is submitted correctly.
