Written Answers Nos. 272-292
272. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of complaints received by the unit within his Department with responsibility for oversight and implementation of the unfair trading practices; the outcome or current status of such complaints, by year, since its establishment until the establishment of the agrifood regulator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6977/24]
View answerWhile under the remit of my Department, the Unfair Trading Practices Enforcement Authority received thirteen complaints.
There were no complaints in 2021, ten complaints in 2022 and three complaints in 2023. Following a screening process to review these complaints, eight of the complaints in 2022 and two from 2023, could not be investigated as the issues raised were not covered within the scope of the Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Regulations (S.I. No. 198 of 2021). Two complaints in 2022 were subsequently withdrawn by the complainants and, as a result, no further action was warranted.
There is one complaint from 2023 which is still on-going and responsibility for the on-going investigation of this complaint transferred to An Rialálaí Agraibhia when it was established on 13 December 2023.
An Rialalaí Agraibhia, building on the work of the UTP Enforcement Authority, continues to raise awareness about UTPs and the right of actions by suppliers.
273. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the FTE number of staff working in the unit within his Department with responsibility for oversight and implementation of the unfair trading practices, by year, since its establishment until the establishment of the agrifood regulator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6978/24]
View answer274. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the FTE number of staff currently employed by the agrifood regulator; the allocation provided to it in the year 2023 and under Budget 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6979/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 273 and 274 together.
The Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022 was introduced to the Dáil in December 2022. This Bill provided for the establishment of a new, independent office to enforce the EU Unfair Trading Practices Directive and to provide an independent price and market analysis reporting function. This new office named An Rialálaí Agraibhia, or the Agri-Food Regulator, was established on 13th December 2023 and took over the enforcement functions from the interim Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Enforcement Authority which was previously located within my Department.
The UTPEA, when it was an office of my Department, was staffed with an FTE of 3 officers in 2021; FTE of 4 officers in 2022 and FTE of 5 officers in 2023 up until 13 December 2023. This figure includes the CEO-designate who was appointed on 22nd May 2023, initially taking over as head of the interim Unfair Trading Practices Enforcement Authority before becoming CEO of An Rialálaí Agraibhia on establishment day at which stage the functions of the UTPEA transferred to An Rialálaí Agraibhia.
Now that An Rialalaí Agriabhia has been established, recruitment is being conducted on a phased basis. To date, a total of 5 FTE officers are serving with the Agri Food Regulator.
Budget 2023 provided an allocation of €4 million for the Agri Food Regulator, with Budget 2024 providing an allocation of €2.5 million. Budgetary requirements for the Office continue to be monitored on an on-going basis in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform.
275. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 193 of 13 December 2023, if the BISS/CRISS payment levels cited included or excluded greening payments/eco-schemes; the number of farmers in receipt of a greening/eco-scheme in Monaghan in the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; the average payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6980/24]
View answerThe figures cited in response to Parliamentary Question No. 193 of 13 December 2023 related solely to BPS for the years 2019 - 2022 and BISS/CRISS for 2023.
The Eco-Scheme was introduced as part of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) 2023-2027. The number of eligible farmers in County Monaghan who have received a payment under the Eco-Scheme in 2023 to date, and the average payment per farmer are shown in the table below:
|
Year |
Number Paid |
Gross Paid |
Average payment |
|
2023 |
3,843 |
€6,547,542 |
€1,703.75 |
For scheme years 2019 - 2022, the total amount of eligible farmers who received a Greening payment in Monaghan are shown in the table below:
|
Year |
Number Paid |
Gross Paid |
Average payment |
|
2019 |
3,999 |
€8,260,379.63 |
€2,065.61 |
|
2020 |
3,979 |
€8,006,146.13 |
€2,012.10 |
|
2021 |
3,974 |
€8,071,290.29 |
€2,031.02 |
|
2022 |
3,937 |
€8,005,619.39 |
€2,033.43 |
276. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide full citations, including the publication details, for recent studies which are referred to in the product specification of the application to register the PGI Grass Fed Beef made by his Department to the Commission in 2020. [6995/24]
View answerThe full citations, including publication details, for recent studies which are referred to in the product specification for the PGI for Grass Fed Beef that was submitted by my Department to the European Commission in 2020 are as follows:
French, P., Stanton, C., Lawless, F., O’Riordan, E.G., Monahan, F.J., Caffrey P.J., Molony, A.P., (2000). ‘Fatty acid composition, including conjugated linoleic acid, of intramuscular fat from steers offered grazed grass, grass silage, or concentrate-based diets’. Journal of Animal Science, 78, 2849-2855.
McAfee, A.J., McSorley E.M., Cuskelly G.J., Fearon A.M., Moss B.W., Beattie J.A., Wallace J.M., Bonham M.P., Strain J.J. (2011). ‘Red meat from animals offered a grass diet increases plasma and platelet n-3 PUFA in healthy consumers’. British Journal of Nutrition, 105(1), pp. 80-89.
Moloney, A.P., McElhinney C., O’ Riordan E.G., Monahan F.J., Richardson R.I. (2018). ‘Colour and sensory characteristics of longissimus muscle from grass-fed or concentrate-fed heifers’. Grassland Science in Europe, 23, pp. 758-760.
Siphambili, S., Moloney, A.P., O'Riordan E.G., McGee M., Monahan F.J. (2020). ‘The effects of graded levels of concentrate supplementation on colour and lipid stability of beef from pasture finished late-maturing bulls’. Animal, 14(3), pp. 656-666.
Steen. R.W.J., Lavery, N.P., Kilpatrick, D.J., Porter, M.G. (2003). ‘Effects of pasture and high-concentrate diets on the performance of beef cattle, carcass composition at equal growth rates, and the fatty acid composition of beef’. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 46(2), pp. 69-81.
277. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there are any funding opportunities for research projects for Northern Ireland. [6996/24]
View answerResearch in Agriculture and the Environment has been an area of long standing collaboration between Northern Ireland and the Republic. My Department's major research funding sees large research Calls funding run every second year. Typically, these include scope for collaboration with specified Northern Irish Research Performing Organisations.
My Department and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Northern Ireland agree a co-funding arrangement in these Calls, subject to budget availability, to facilitate the involvement of Northern Irish partners in applications in specific research areas. Under the 2023 DAFM Thematic Call for example, I announced awards of just over €24 million for 20 projects and €1.9 million of this was from DAERA for Northern Irish participants collaborating in five of the projects.
In addition, the US-Ireland R&D Partnership is a tri-jurisdictional alliance between Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United States which was officially launched in 2006. Its aim is to promote collaborative innovative research projects which create value above and beyond individual efforts. There are thirteen agriculture, food and bioeconomy areas which researchers can apply to on an annual basis. Projects must have partners from Ireland, Northern Ireland and the USA.
Researchers also have opportunities to collaborate through the funding mechanism contained in Horizon Europe.
278. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when an ACRES payment (details supplied) will be made; the reason for the delay in issuing such payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7019/24]
View answerThe person named was approved into Tranche 1 of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), with a contract commencement date of 1 January 2023.
I can confirm that the ACRES claim for the person named is progressing through the necessary validation checks, and officials are working actively to facilitate payment in the coming weeks.
I fully appreciate the frustration felt by farmers experiencing payment delays and their concern regarding uncertainty of payments, and I want to reassure you that everything is being done to pay all ACRES applicants as a matter of priority.
279. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine what recent discussions he has had with an organisation (details supplied) in regard to the Forestry Programme 2023-2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7064/24]
View answerThe new Forestry Programme 2023 - 2027 was launched on 6th September 2023, following a period of comprehensive engagement and public consultation in which the organisation named actively participated.
Since the launch of the Programme, my colleague Minister Hackett met with the organisation named on 6th December 2023.
The named organisation is also represented on Minister Hackett's recently formed Forest Strategy Consultative Committee (FSCC), which is due to meet for the first time in Q1 2024. The FSCC members were selected from a broad range of relevant stakeholders, acknowledging that it is essential that on-going stakeholder engagement is continued to ensure a successful outcome for the Forest Strategy Implementation Plan and the Forestry Programme 2023-2027.
The Afforestation Technical Working Group, which is a sub-group of the FSCC, met for the first time last week. There are equal members of my Department's staff and forestry stakeholders, who are involved in delivering the afforestation scheme, in this working group. The named organisation is also represented on this working group.
280. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he accepts that the issuance of afforestation licences is not keeping up with the number of applications being received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7065/24]
View answer282. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he accepts that the current rate of forestry planting will not allow for the national afforestation target 2024 to be met; what plans are in place to ensure meeting the target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7067/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 280 and 282 together.
The ambitious €1.3bn funded Forestry Programme 2023-2027 includes an annual afforestation target of 8,000ha and a number of attractive forest establishment options that will help to support this ambition.
The Afforestation Scheme offers landowners a choice of 12 Forest Types which cover a broad range of planting options including Native Woodland, Continuous Cover Forestry and Emergent Forests. It provides generous incentives to farmers in particular, to re-engage with forestry. These include increases in premia rates ranging from between 46% to 66%, along with a longer premia term of 20 years for farmers, compared to 15 years for non-farmers, across most Forest Types.
To date in 2024 my Department has received 59 fully complete afforestation applications, with 59 afforestation licences also being approved in the same period.
Afforestation is a voluntary land use choice for landowners and building confidence among landowners of the benefits of forestry will be key to increasing afforestation rates on recent low trends. I am confident that the attractive and increased rates under the new Programme, coupled with 20 year premiums for farmers, will encourage strong uptake of these afforestation options.
283. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when ACRES-CP payments to farmers in the scheme for 2023 will be issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7099/24]
View answerMy Department is working to expedite payments to all ACRES participants as a matter of absolute priority. However, this is taking longer than anticipated.
Accordingly, and as the Deputy will be aware, I have announced that I will be making 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.
284. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will review a case (details supplied). [6691/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Fórsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
285. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if a facility is fully operational (details supplied); if he will address matters in relation to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6892/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Fórsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
286. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if an application to the disability services for an individualised budget relative to the care needs of a person (details supplied); if the complaints lodged regarding a service provider have been investigated; if so, have the issues been resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6893/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Fórsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
287. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on HSE funding for a service (details supplied) in CHO3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7091/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Fórsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps
288. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth for an update on the current caseload of the Nenagh Child and Family Agency Children’s Disability Network Team; the current level of whole time equivalent staff based in Nenagh’s CDNT; the number of WTE staff positions that are currently vacant, and the plans in place to address these vacancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6678/24]
View answerAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible. The Deputy will likely be aware that the industrial action by certain Fórsa grades in the HSE has been suspended. The HSE has indicated that they have recommenced issuing replies to questions but there is a significant backlog of PQs and Reps to be responded to and has advised that they are working to get through these as soon as possible while at the same time managing the volume of current PQs and Reps.
289. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to confirm the status of a property (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6681/24]
View answerI thank the Deputy for this question. A response will be provided directly to the Deputy in the coming days.
The Deputy may wish to be aware that the Community Engagement Team has been established within my Department which stands ready to respond to queries of this nature, and they may be contacted directly at community@equality.gov.ie.
290. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the measures he is taking to ensure that organisations, including State bodies under the aegis of his Department as well as non-governmental organisations and charities that are in receipt of funding from his Department, do not use any portion of such funding to campaign or promote a position in favour or against any outcome of the forthcoming referenda on Articles 41.1.1, 41.2.1 and 41.2.2 of the Constitution, thereby breaching the McKenna principles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6755/24]
View answerMy Department circulated to all staff guidance it received from the Department of an Taoiseach in respect of the application of the principles of the various Court judgments relevant to the Government’s role in referendum campaigns.
It is the responsibility of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, under Chapter 5, Part 2 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, to provide a general explanation of the subject matter of the proposals for the referendums and to promote public awareness and encourage voting at the referendums.
291. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of children who have been refused admission in 2023 for residential and other types of care, in tabular form; and the reasons they were refused admission . [7073/24]
View answerAs this relates to Tusla operational matters, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.
292. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how many children currently in special emergency care provision, such as unregulated hotels, are having their education maintained/are in school. [7079/24]
View answerAs this relates to Tusla operational matters, the question has been forwarded to Tusla for direct reply to the Deputy.
