Written Answers Nos. 484-503
484. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine , further to Parliamentary Question No. 472 of 23 January, if the total sitka area planted for the period 2010 to 2023 of 39,791.78 ha includes open space or a bio area which would reduce the actual planted sitka area by a further 15%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6108/24]
View answerI am happy to clarify that the total figure for Sitka Spruce planted excludes associated areas of biodiversity (which are digitised out) and is the actual area planted. This area may however include areas of open space which are not digitised, such as set-backs for watercourses, and those are attributed to the species planted.
485. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide details of the specific measures that his Department has requested to be in place as part of and detailed in the services requested from a body (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6181/24]
View answerThe named organisation provides services to my Department operating under service level agreements (SLAs). In particular, certain SLAs specify that the organisation has Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans, covering services provided to my Department, that are tested on a regular basis. These detailed plans, while not itemised in the SLA, include data security, data breach protection, appropriate technology (software and hardware) and appropriate back-up systems.
I understand that the plans are regularly assessed and tested by ICBF and are included as risks in their organisational risk management system.
486. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will now review the native tree area scheme conditions, given the low uptake of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6230/24]
View answer487. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average processing times for the native tree area scheme; if he will provide an update on the delays for processing applications for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6231/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 486 and 487 together.
The Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS) was introduced with the purpose of facilitating small-scale tree planting. The introduction of an exemption for afforestation in limited circumstances facilitates the exclusion of clearly defined activities from requiring an afforestation licence. This exemption is an enabling proposal that allows the creation of forests through initiatives, other than the afforestation scheme, thereby contributing to Ireland’s targets in relation to a wide range of environmental priorities particularly climate change, biodiversity and water quality.
Since the scheme was introduced in September 2023, 201 applications have been received of which 77 approvals have issued for 80ha. My Department is not aware of any delays in the processing of applications with an average turnaround time of four to five weeks. The NTAS was introduced as part of the Forestry Programme 2023 and as part of that process there will be a formal review process of all associated schemes in due course.
We will continue to encourage farmers to consider the Scheme as an complementary activity to a productive farming enterprise with premiums of up to €22,840 for 10 years.
488. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine , further to a response issued to a previous Parliamentary Question on the existing farm partnership arrangements with Coillte, if he will now address issues (details supplied) raised by individual landowners which are of huge concern to them and continue to be ignored or misrepresented by Coillte. [6255/24]
View answerIn my previous response regarding the existing farm partnership arrangements with Coillte, I mentioned that Coillte CGA has a farm partnership portfolio of 644 farm partnerships, which accounts for over 12,000 hectares of productive forests.
Coillte’s farm partnership forests are well-managed to create sustainable, valuable assets for both the farm partner and Coillte. The vast majority of these partnerships are working well. In a small number of cases, farm partners have raised issues such as poor communication and transparency of information and Coillte have assured me that the company works with all its farm partners to resolve any issues they may have.
It is important to keep in mind that Coillte was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988, and day-to-day operational matters, such as the Coillte Farm Partnership Scheme, are the responsibility of the company.
I have therefore referred the detailed queries in relation to operational matters regarding Coillte’s Farm Partnership Scheme to Coillte for direct follow-up with the Deputy.
489. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, payment will issue to a farmer (details supplied) in Cork. [6271/24]
View answerThe person named is among those in the ACRES Co-operation Project stream awaiting payments.
As the Deputy will be aware, my officials are continuing the processing of further ACRES payments, following their commencement last December 2023.
This is taking more time to complete than originally anticipated. Therefore, I have decided to make an interim payment to all ACRES participants, both General and Co-operation Project, who have not yet received their advance payment for 2023. Further details will be provided in the coming days. I intend to deliver this payment by the end of February.
Intensive work will continue on the calculation of the full payments due to farmers under ACRES, and when this work is completed, the final payments issued to farmers will take into account the interim payments already made to the relevant participants.
490. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will intervene in the case of issues concerning a 2023 basic income support for sustainability, BISS, application by farmers (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6310/24]
View answerA BISS and other area-related schemes application was submitted by an agent on behalf of the herdowners on the 29th of May 2023. Four land parcels were included on this application. An amendment was submitted on the 29th of September 2023, requesting the addition of a number of further parcels to the application.
The closing date for receipt of applications was the 31st of May 2023, and under the terms and conditions of the scheme, amendments to applications, including the addition of parcels/plots, may be made online up to 14 June 2023 (without a penalty), and up to 23rd of June with a 1% per day penalty. However, any parcels added after the 23rd of June attract 100% reduction, in effect they are not eligible for payment. As the amendment was received after the 23rd of June the parcels were added to the application, however they are not eligible for payment.
A letter issued to the applicants on the 1st of February advising them of this and providing them with a right of appeal to the independent Agricultural Appeals Office.
491. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he can assist a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6314/24]
View answerThe €1.3 billion funded Forestry Programme 2023-2027 provides a range of schemes to support the establishment and management of forests in Ireland. Sustainably managed forests make a significant contribution to the rural economy and contribute to Ireland's climate targets by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through sequestration and the storage of carbon in harvested wood products.
It is important to note that an afforestation licence is required for all new forest projects (with the exception of the Native Tree Area Scheme) where the area involved is greater than 0.1 hectares (approximately 0.25 acres). If a landowner wishes to afforest an area of greater than 0.10 hectare either with or without grant aid, they are required to apply for an afforestation licence which must be submitted through a Registered Forester. My Department assesses all afforestation licence applications, i.e. grant-aided and non-grant aided, in the same manner.
My Department does not currently provide funding to distribute free native trees. However, the new Afforestation Scheme, which opened on the 6th September 2023, offers generous incentives for landowners to engage with forestry. It offers a choice of 12 Forest Types, covering a broad range of planting options. My Department covers 100% of the costs to establish these forest types, alongside an annual premium of up to 20 years for farmers, compared to 15 years for non-farmers across most forest types. All payments and earnings are income tax free.
The annual broadleaf target for this Programme has also increased from 30% to 50% of total annual planting. This is reflected in a substantial increase of 66% in premium rates for the establishment of a native forest with €1,103 per hectare available to plant native forests and €1,142 per hectare payable for native forests for water over a period of 15 or 20 years. In addition, the programme contains a new Native Tree Area Scheme, which builds on a recent amendment to the Forestry Act 2014 that removed the licensing requirement for the planting of native woodland in areas not greater than one hectare. This aims to increase and encourage interest in small-scale planting and offers premiums of up to €2,284 for 10 years.
The project referenced may also be interested in the “Call for Proposals for Forestry Promotion Projects” within the Forestry Programme 2023-2027. In order to encourage farmers and other landowners to plant and to raise the profile of forestry as a public good and a commercially viable enterprise, the Department invites applications for funding for projects which support and highlight the multiple benefits of Forestry. While applications for the 2023/2024 period have now closed, new calls will open periodically over the duration of the programme. To date 42 projects have been selected to receive €1.6 million in funding to promote forestry through a variety of approaches.
Further details of this and other schemes available under the new Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027 are available on my Departments website
www.gov.ie/en/publication/e384e-forestry-grants-and-schemes/
492. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if force majeure will be accepted in the case of a late fodder support scheme application by a farmer in County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6325/24]
View answerFollowing the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022, the Deputy will be aware that on 15 June 2022, I announced the launch of the €56 million Fodder Support Scheme. The aim of the scheme was to incentivise farmers to grow more fodder.
Building on the success of the 2022 Fodder Support Scheme, on 2 November 2022, I launched the 2023 Fodder Support Scheme.
The 2023 Fodder Support Scheme is a continuance of the 2022 Scheme and only successful applicants for the 2022 Fodder Support Scheme were eligible to apply for the 2023 Scheme, which closed at midnight on 5 December 2022.
My Department has examined the relevant records and have confirmed that a review which included medical evidence was recently submitted. A letter outlining the outcome of this review will issue to the herd-owner in the coming days.
493. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine where a member of the public can view licence decisions and the documentation, in a timely manner, to make an appeal without having to sign a disclaimer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6333/24]
View answerMy Department publishes decisions on forestry licence applications on the Forestry Licence Viewer (FLV). These can be found here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/a91f7-forestry-licence-viewer
Decisions, along with all relevant documents that were involved in coming to those decisions, are made available on the FLV on the same day as the decision is taken.
The disclaimer on the FLV does not inhibit any potential appeal against a decision made by my Department on a forestry licence to the Forestry Appeals Committee. The purpose of providing the documents relevant to licence decisions on the FLV is to aid public consultations on forestry licence applications and to allow access to as much information as possible to those considering making an appeal to the Forestry Appeals Committee.
The purpose of the disclaimer, which is similar to those used on other state planning related websites, is to warn against the use of information contained in the Forestry Licence Viewer for non-forestry licensing related purposes.
494. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if farmers in the co-operation programme areas of the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, who applied for non-profit investments before Christmas 2023, with the approximate approval date in April 2024, can expend money in completing works such as fencing, gates, drinking troughs, bird boxes and so on; if they will be reimbursed by the said particular timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6387/24]
View answerMy Department received applications for Non-productive Investments (NPIs) from circa 4,000 ACRES participants, covering over 44,000 actions, in December 2023. At present, these applications are being screened by the Co-operation Project Teams. Once this screening is complete, my officials will issue decision letters to the applicants, detailing what actions are approved or not approved.
NPIs are voluntary actions and are not a requirement of remaining a participant in ACRES. It is important to note, however, that any action to be carried out by the applicant must be approved from the outset. Once the action is completed, the participant can make a claim for payment.
More details on NPI payment claims will be made available by my Department in due course.
495. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount expended on the smooth point pier extension project in Killybegs Harbour Centre for each year from 2015 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6411/24]
View answer496. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the timeline for completion of phase 2 of the smooth point pier extension project in Killybegs Harbour Centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6412/24]
View answer497. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if additional funding is required for the completion of phase 2 of the smooth point pier extension project in Killybegs Harbour Centre; if so, the amount; if the funding has been committed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6413/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 495 to 497, inclusive, together.
In recent days, I announced an allocation of €5.045 million in capital investment in Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre under the 2024 Fishery Harbour Centres and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme with €3.25 million allocated to complete the Smooth Point pier extension. Details of the project allocation are available in tabular form online at
www.gov.ie/en/press-release/1e320-minister-mcconalogue-announces-investment-of-297million-in-the-fishery-harbour-centres/.
Works on the Smooth Point pier extension project are continuing and are scheduled for completion next month. When complete, the Smooth Point pier extension will add 120 metres of additional quay space in the harbour and will alleviate congestion experienced during the peak fishing season. The project will also create the opportunity for the seafood industry in the region to continue to grow.
I have attached a table detailing the expenditure on the Smooth Point pier extension over the period 2015 to 2023 (inclusive) which includes studies and preparation in advance of the capital works commencing.
498. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the status of outstanding agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6415/24]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, my officials are continuing the processing of further ACRES payments, following their commencement last December 2023. This will take some further time to complete.
Therefore, I have decided to make an interim payment to all ACRES participants, both General and Co-operation Project, who have not yet received their advance payment for 2023. Further details will be provided in the coming days. I intend to deliver this payment by the end of February.
Intensive work will continue on the calculation of the full payments due to farmers under ACRES, and when this work is completed, the final payments issued to farmers will take into account the interim payments already made to the relevant participants
499. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total amount of funding his Department has received under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund, disaggregated by the year funding was expended and scheme title of eligible measures, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6429/24]
View answerThe list of financial allocations and expenditure under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) Fund from my Department for each of the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 is set out below.
Ultimately the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform will determine which schemes form part of Ireland’s BAR claim which is due to be submitted in September 2024.
Table 1: 2021 BAR Allocation and Spend
|
Sector/Scheme |
2021 BAR Allocation €000 |
2021 BAR Expenditure €000 |
|
Horticulture |
70 |
70 |
|
Marketing and Processing |
7,000 |
0 |
|
Fisheries |
12,000 |
10,000 |
|
Total |
19,070 |
10,070 |
Table 2: 2022 BAR Allocation and Spend
|
Sector/Scheme |
2022 BAR Allocation €000 |
2022 BAR Expenditure €000 |
|
Horticulture |
1,500 |
1,410 |
|
Marketing and Processing |
5,300 |
4,076 |
|
Fisheries |
33,200 |
22,615 |
|
Total |
40,000 |
28,101 |
Table 3: 2023 BAR Allocation and Provisional Spend
|
Sector/Scheme |
2023 BAR Allocation €000 |
2023 BAR Provisional Expenditure €000 |
|
Meat and Bone Meal Disposal |
16,000 |
16,071 |
|
Horticulture |
9,850 |
4,706 |
|
Organic Promotion |
1,500 |
1,474 |
|
Beef |
31,000 |
31,247 |
|
Marketing and Processing |
5,500 |
8,756 |
|
Equine Supports |
1,000 |
934 |
|
Fisheries |
186,150 |
182,045 |
|
Development of Border Inspection Post at Rosslare Europort (paid to the Office of Public Works) |
63,906 |
63,906 |
|
Total |
314,906 |
309,139 |
500. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total amount of funding granted to Donegal businesses through the Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund, disaggregated by the year funding was expended and scheme title of eligible measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6431/24]
View answerThe Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) fund aimed to provide financial support to those most affected by Brexit in order to deal with the adverse economic, social, territorial and, where appropriate, environmental consequences of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. Ireland, as the Member State most affected, received a significant allocation.
In line with the recommendations of the Seafood Task Force, I launched 16 schemes with a combined budget allocation of €305.5m in supports to fishers, to the aquaculture sector, to fish processors and to operators in the blue economy around our coastal communities.
In line with the terms and conditions of BAR funded schemes, lists of beneficiaries including county details are published online by Bord Iascaigh Mhara at the following link
bim.ie/brexit-hub/the-brexit-adjustment-reserve-fund/.
To date beneficiaries in Donegal have received €30,923,158 in BAR supports administered through BIM and listed on their website and Donegal County Council has received €17,678,279 in support under the Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme.
Further updated beneficiary listings are anticipated under the Brexit Pelagic Fisheries Support Scheme and the Brexit Fish processor Transition Scheme.
Current details of grant expenditure to 2023 is set out in tabular format:
|
Scheme |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Scheme |
€424,664 |
||
|
Brexit Processing Capital Support Scheme |
€17,544,697 |
||
|
Brexit Off-register Capacity Buy-out Scheme |
€373,485 |
||
|
Brexit Voluntary Permanent Cessation Scheme |
€5,550,895 |
||
|
Brexit Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme 2023 |
€407,800 |
||
|
Brexit Inshore Fisheries Business Model Adjustment Scheme 2022 |
€370,300 |
||
|
Brexit Blue Economy Enterprise Development Scheme |
€2,677,927 |
||
|
Brexit Fisheries Cooperative Transition Scheme 2023 |
€209,846 |
||
|
Brexit Fisheries Cooperative Transition Scheme 2022 |
€171,241 |
||
|
Brexit Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme 2021 |
€1,121,700 |
||
|
Brexit Temporary Fleet Tie-up Scheme 2022 |
€2,070,600 |
||
|
Totals |
€1,121,700 |
€2,612,141 |
€27,189,314 |
501. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total amount of funding expended by his Department under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund for the years 2021 to 2023, disaggregated by the year funding was expended and scheme title of eligible measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6432/24]
View answerIn the years 2021 to 2023 funding of over €216 million for the seafood sector was provided under the schemes which were put in place following the report of the Seafood Task Force, and funded under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. Schemes were also in place during that period, funded under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). As such, the implementation of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) during 2021 - 2023 has focused predominantly on ensuring continued support for the work programmes of the marine agencies (Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Marine Institute and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA)) and Bord Bia.
This has been done by means of a process whereby the agencies submit applications to my Department for approval in principle. It is intended to progress the finalisation of implementation plans for all of these work programmes, and their adoption by the EMFAF programme Monitoring Committee, over the coming months. Work is also underway now to finalise implementation plans for schemes to support industry, and we expect that the first number of such schemes will be in place in the first quarter of 2024, with further schemes to follow.
Approximately €25,834,603 has been spent under EMFAF between 2021 and 2023 on the basis outlined above, however this does not include funding for the Data Control Framework work programme managed by the Marine Institute as some of this work programme will be funded under European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF), and the work to finalise the breakdown of costs across both programmes is not yet completed.
502. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total amount of funding expended in County Donegal by his Department under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund for the years 2021 to 2023, disaggregated by the year funding was expended and scheme title of eligible measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6433/24]
View answerPlease refer to the reply to the Deputy's previous question - PQ 6432/24.
The implementation of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) during 2021 - 2023 has focused predominantly on ensuring continued support for the work programmes of the marine agencies (Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Marine Institute and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and Bord Bia.
Work is also underway now to finalise implementation plans for schemes to support industry, and we expect that the first number of such schemes will be in place in the first quarter of 2024, with further schemes to follow.
As was the case with EMFF, detailed information on expenditure under EMFAF schemes will be published in due course, and when published it will be possible to filter this data on a county-by-county basis.
503. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what proposals and actions he intends to pursue to ensure that the Irish pelagic quota, under the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, total allowable catches, TACs, return to pre-Brexit levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6434/24]
View answerThis Government is committed to addressing the challenges facing our seafood sector following the adoption of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA), which has been the most significant and enduring challenge faced by the fisheries sector in generations. I can assure the Deputy that I am pursuing all opportunities at EU level to help address the unequal burden sharing whereby Ireland carries an excessive burden of the EU quota transfers to the UK and I am constantly seeking opportunities for Ireland to increase fishing opportunities where possible.
In 2023, through the EU-Norway agreement I secured an additional 4,000 tonnes of Blue Whiting for Ireland giving Irish fishers a total Blue Whiting quota of 53,776 tonnes for 2023 worth in excess of €13 million. In addition, I was able to secure a significant reduction in the level of Norwegian access to EU, and consequently, Irish waters. Traditionally, Norway has been able to catch up to 68% of its own Blue Whiting quota in EU waters. The amount agreed for 2023 represented only 45% of Norway’s 2023 Blue Whiting quota. This downward trend in Norwegian access continues in 2024, where the level of access is reduced to approximately 41%. In addition, Ireland's contribution to the EU's transfer of Blue Whiting to Norway in 2024 is less than the 4% cap I established in previous years - meaning more quota is available to Irish fishers.
At the Fisheries Council in December 2023, I secured additional mackerel quota-share for Ireland worth approximately €3 million annually for Ireland’s fishing industry. This represents the first ever permanent increase in Mackerel quota.
I established the Seafood Sector Taskforce to examine the impacts of the TCA on our fishing sector and coastal communities and to make recommendations to me on a mitigation strategy. On foot of the report of the Task Force, which comprehensively considered the needs of the sector, 14 schemes were put in place to provide funding directly to industry. Two further schemes to provide other necessary supports were also put in place - one implemented by Bord Bia to promote Inshore fisheries products and the other, the Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme, which funded investment in the piers and harbours maintained by local authorities. These were all funded under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).
I consistently keep a strong focus within the Fisheries Council on the matter of the disproportionate quota reductions for Ireland under the TCA. At my insistence, the Conclusions on the Commission's Fisheries Policy Package - which failed to address the impacts of Brexit - include a demand that the Commission fully analyse and report on the impacts of the quota transfers, as well as the need to develop a comprehensive strategy for relations with Third Countries.
I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to use any opportunity available to seek constructive solutions that would help to alleviate this unacceptable position.
The Programme for Government sets down an ambitious programme of actions that promote a sustainable seafood industry and I am committed to working to continue to build on the progress that has been made to secure a sustainable future for our fishing industry and the coastal communities which depend upon it.
