Parliamentary questions

Legislative Measures

Pearse Doherty

452. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amendments proposed or being considered to the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006; the efforts being made to ensure that fishermen are afforded procedural fairness at all times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3190/18]

Origin Green Programme

Clare Daly

453. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether his Department has brought the organic food label into disrepute in view of the findings of the 2017 EU audit of controls on organic food production and the continued application of the organic label to salmon farmed by a company (details supplied) despite the numerous investigations by his Department of licence breaches by that producer and the refusal of his Department to release details of fish mortalities at salmon farms. [3243/18]

Aquaculture Licences

Clare Daly

454. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will commission research on Irish shellfish sites in view of research findings in the UK and elsewhere showing the presence of microplastics in shellfish grown for human consumption; and if he will initiate a moratorium on shellfish licensing pending the outcome of that research. [3244/18]

Organic Farming

Clare Daly

455. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 180 of 7 December 2017, if his Department is unable to cite legislation or a legal basis for withholding publication of the audit report on the organic status of the aquaculture sites operated by a company (details supplied) and is thereby protecting the commercial interests of the operator at the expense of the overriding public interest in having a bona fide organic food programme. [3245/18]

Aquaculture Development

Clare Daly

456. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 181 of 7 December 2017, his views on the public perception that maintaining control of both the development and the regulation of aquaculture in the same seafood branch of his Department is detrimental to the public interest; and his views on whether the effects of this maladministration can be seen in the actions of his Department on breaches of licence conditions by a company (details supplied). [3246/18]

Origin Green Programme

Clare Daly

457. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 183 of 7 December 2017, if he will commission an independent review of the operation of An Bord Bia's origin green programme in view of the inclusion in the programme of salmon farms operated by a company (details supplied) despite multiple investigations by his Department for breaches of licence conditions; and if this situation is representative of other food producers covered by the programme. [3247/18]

Aquaculture Licences

Clare Daly

458. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will cease the licensing of shellfish production on Braade Strand, County Donegal, pending the outcome of appeals against licences he approved for the area that are under consideration by the Aquaculture Licence Appeals Board. [3248/18]

Single Payment Scheme Data

Bernard Durkan

459. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of area aid and subsidy payments issued in respect of lands (details supplied) at Carbury, County Kildare in the past six years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3334/18]

Departmental Bodies Data

Éamon Ó Cuív

460. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of agencies, boards or other bodies under the aegis of his Department that have been disbanded or amalgamated or whose functions were subsumed back into his Department since 2011; the number of such bodies set up by his Department since that date; the names of the bodies in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3396/18]

Personal Injury Claims

Michael McGrath

461. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount paid out and the number of claims the payouts related to by each agency under the aegis of his Department in respect of personal injury claims in each of the years from 2010 to 2017; the number of claims that were settled outside of court in each of these years; the number of payments that were as a result of a court judgment in each of these years; the nature of the claims; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3413/18]

Equine Identification Scheme

Róisín Shortall

462. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps his Department is taking to enforce proactively existing laws on the microchipping and passporting of horses in order that stray horses can be identified and the owners found; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3440/18]

North-South Interconnector

Peadar Tóibín

463. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the stage the report to examine the undergrounding of the North-South interconnector is at; when it will be complete; if it will take into consideration the value lost on property and homes; and if it will take into consideration potential health threats and damage to tourism, agriculture and enterprise in the affected locations. [2793/18]

Renewable Energy Projects

Paul Kehoe

464. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the review on solar farms as part of the renewable energy policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2768/18]

Post Office Network

Dara Calleary

465. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the conditions of the €30 million granted to An Post in 2017, in particular the conditions regarding the operation of post offices; the position regarding the future provision of post offices across the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2866/18]

Offshore Exploration

Catherine Murphy

466. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which production pace forms part of Ireland's licensing regime for gas and oil production; the extent to which the State has the ability to control production pace; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2871/18]

Offshore Exploration

Catherine Murphy

467. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the yield to the State in terms of corporation tax from the gas fields in Kinsale, Ballycotton, Seven Heads and Corrib in each of the past 20 years, by gas field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2874/18]

Offshore Exploration

Catherine Murphy

468. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the yield to the State in terms of royalties from the gas fields in Kinsale, Ballycotton, Seven Heads and Corrib in each of the past 20 years, by each gas field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2875/18]

Waste Management

Seán Sherlock

469. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if Ireland is on target to meet EU waste recycling, recovery and diversion targets; and if he is satisfied that systems to provide up to date information on key waste indicators are in place. [2902/18]

Waste Disposal

Seán Sherlock

470. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if all household residual waste throughout the State that is exported for recovery abroad is accounted for and disposed of responsibly by importing countries. [2903/18]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Kevin O'Keeffe

471. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to devise a mechanism once a preferred bidder is chosen by his Department for the roll-out of broadband under the national broadband plan for State-led intervention similar to that of the community involvement scheme whereby a small number of persons that may live on a particular road or area would contribute a percentage of the cost to the overall works in order to fast-track road repairs and resurfacing (details supplied). [3015/18]