I would like to share my time with Deputy Fitzmaurice.
Topical Issue Debate
Nursing Home Beds Data
I need the agreement of the House for that. There is no objection. Each Deputy has two minutes.
My question is about convalescent beds and the policy regarding University Hospital Galway and discharge. Prior to the Easter recess a letter had regrettably been sent out to nursing home providers seeking tenders for convalescent beds. This came as a shock because the letter stated that the beds had to be within a 30 km radius of University Hospital Galway. Galway is broad and diverse and not all of the nursing homes fell inside that particular commuter belt. Fair deal and convalescent care was all about the patient having choice. We have a great selection of both private and public nursing homes right throughout the county, but a good number of them are outside the 30 km belt. They feel disenfranchised by this letter, and that the patient choice was being eroded. The private providers had nursing homes built in the community. They had invested in the community and created jobs, as well as creating a choice for the patient to convalesce with their own families. That is what the families had wanted.
I need to know what the HSE policy is. I know a letter had issued in 2012 on this topic, and the letter that came out in March 2017 was quite a shock to people. They need to know where the HSE is going with this sort of policy. I know it has been withdrawn since, but in actual fact it is a comfort withdrawal. We need to know what the policy is. Are letters like this only issued in Galway or was it right across the country?
The facts are that in County Galway and other counties, people who wanted to go to a nursing home close to their family or that their family would be able to visit were not given the option for convalescent beds. None of us are saying that people should be paying two prices in one and one price on the other. If the Department was using a bit of common sense it would say that people could go wherever is nearest to them, providing that they are in line with the other nursing homes in the county. There is a workable solution. It looks very unfair when a tender document says that a nursing home might be 31 km from University Hospital Galway and be excluded because it was not built inside this alleged zone.
The HSE has to think of families or elderly people who might have an elderly partner at home that might not have a way of travelling to these places. County Galway is the second biggest county in Ireland. There are other counties affected, it is not just confined to County Galway. The HSE needs to use some common sense. This is not a money saving exercise. If one is in and around Galway city a nursing home will probably be more expensive than out in the rural parts of County Galway. These people want the opportunity. Some elderly people are very aggrieved about this. Every Deputy gets phone calls, and constituents will say that they are not being allowed to go to a particular nursing home near their family and their families will not be able to visit.
We should have a bit of consideration and a bit of common sense. There are people in the HSE who go off on tangents of their own and decide to do things without telling the Minister, but at times the reigns must be pulled in. We should think of these elderly people who are trying to the best they can. They are not being awkward. What they want is a fair and level playing field, as do the nursing home providers.
I thank both Deputies for raising this issue. It is important to say at the outset that the overarching policy of the Government is to support older people to live in dignity and independence in their own homes, and most importantly within their own communities, for as long as possible. This is clearly what older people want and only those in genuine need of residential care should go down that route where it is appropriate. Short-term beds, including convalescent, respite and rehabilitation beds, contribute to the provision of an integrated model of care for older people, enabling them to return home following a period of hospital care or postponing admission to long-stay residential care.
The management of resources and service planning is a matter for the HSE in the first instance. Over the past number of years different arrangements have been in place across the country in relation to the provision of convalescent care. Galway University Hospital has operated its own process in this respect for a number of years. In 2014, as part of the local community support to the hospital and in consultation with both the HSE’s special delivery unit and national services for older people, designated short-stay services to support acute discharges were developed. Between 2014 and 2015, a total of 25 HSE short stay beds were put in place in addition to the 28 step-down beds that are provided in Clifden District Hospital. However, there remained an insufficient geographical cover, particularly for the population of north and west Galway, and a decision was taken, through the local services, to address this issue. Six private beds were commissioned at a cost of €700 per week. Only two nursing homes were prepared to provide three beds at this rate. In late 2016, the HSE decided to formally tender for these beds. Around the same time, at national level, the HSE was provided with additional funding under the winter initiative for 2016-17 to extend transitional care funding services to all acute hospitals. Some €6 million in additional funding was allocated for that. Transitional care beds support patients who have been deemed fit for discharge but may be awaiting a specific bed in a long-term care facility or some degree of convalescence prior to returning home.
As a result of the extension of this national system which would cater for patients’ needs in the area it was decided not to proceed with the local tender in Galway. Patients who require convalescence or who are awaiting funding under the nursing home support scheme can access the national transitional care fund I mentioned earlier when leaving hospital services. While every effort is made to accommodate the patient's choice they can only be placed where there are vacancies and where the nursing homes can cater for their needs and agree to their admission. The local arrangements in County Galway will expire when all six patients have vacated those beds in question and, as I have outlined, transitional care funding is now available to all acute hospitals nationally on request.
The HSE has no further plans to tender for this service, and instead the policy is to continue to provide beds under the national system that is currently operating. The aim of the Government is for people to stay in their own homes, in their own communities, and to retain their independence for as long as possible. Home care services are critical in this regard, and I remind Deputies that a public consultation will be launching this month concerning the development of the home care scheme, which will provide older people with certainty, but most importantly choice.
I thank the Minister of State for her response. I take it that from the end of these six beds that there is going to be no tendering process whatsoever for it.
Choice has to be left with the patient. Do they now have to access the funds to get their convalescent care? Has that been tendered by the HSE? Have the HSE hired a new recruitment group for carrying out that tendering process for the beds, or how is that supported? How can patients access those funds?
The whole idea about convalescent care I assume is because they need 24 hour care or assistance and that there are no home care packages available to step patients down and so they have to use home care facilities. If one was to look at 168 hours required for 24-7 convalescent care in nursing homes it works out as €3.25 per hour for the Government, as opposed to €18 to €25 it would cost in a home care package.
The Minister of State said that the HSE has its own autonomy in doing this.
Can the Minister of State clarify whether we have passed the stage when a Minister can say, "This is what we need to do and this is the way we are going to do it"? Many Ministers would not do some of the things we have seen done so is there a cohort in the HSE who go off on tangents of their own, only for it to come back to the Minister when it backfires? As Deputies, we also get it day in, day out. Who makes the calls on these things? Is it someone in an office who decides, while the Minister is left carrying the baby?
The needs of patients in Galway will continue to be catered for. At the time there was a gap and local services figured out a way to fill it, whether it was the right way or not. In the current system, one can apply and, if it is approved, funding will be received from a national pot. The problem with the previous tendering process was that there were two nursing homes and other homes were excluded, which was not a fair system. It is now much fairer and people can apply for the nursing home closest to them and which suits their needs and if there is availability, the funding is available to everybody. Galway is one of the biggest users of transitional care in the country and is very well catered for. The decision has been taken to provide a national system and a pot of funding for which people can apply. Services have used their initiative and thought outside the box and nobody would disagree that they should do that but we now need to implement things in a much fairer way. It will take time and things are not perfect but, as time progresses, a much fairer system will be in place.
Respite Care Services Provision
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important issue. I will give the Minister of State a two-year history of the situation. Respite facilities were discontinued for children with disabilities in November 2015. The facilities had been in place for a number of years and, to compound matters, the facilities in Kilkenny closed at around the same time leaving two counties, Carlow and Kilkenny, with no overnight respite facilities for children with profound intellectual disabilities. A structure was put in place to alleviate the problem and much progress seemed to have been made, with everybody pulling together, until last week when a meeting took place between parents and HSE representatives, who informed those at the meeting that the whole thing had fallen apart. In frustration and anger, I put forward this matter today to try to learn why this had come to pass.
On 1 November last, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, for whom I have the utmost respect, said a venue for respite services had now been delivered and agreed for Carlow, that the respite tendering document was currently being reviewed by the HSE procurement department and it was expected that the tendering process would be advertised in due course at www.etenders.gov.ie. He said it was anticipated that the proposals would provide respite services for Carlow and Kilkenny initially in tandem with an alternative proposal being assessed for Kilkenny to provide overnight respite services. On 22 February 2017, this point was reinforced by the Minister, who said the process had been put in place, a service provider had been agreed on and it was hoped overnight respite services would be up and running again in July 2017.
Why did the HSE lead parents, and those involved, up the garden path as regards the services which were to be made available? If they were not going to be available from day one, why were people not told that? My understanding is that the HSE was in negotiation with Respond!, the voluntary housing association. Housing was not made available because Respond! was initially given finance for housing for adults, and not for children with disabilities. This is mindboggling. When did the HSE or Minister become aware of this legal difficulty? What will happen now that the service is not available?
There is good news at the end of the story because the HSE has now decided that funding, which was not available six months ago, will be available to build a new structure. Where has the money come from in the past six months to build the purpose-built facility that was part of the initial proposal? Everybody wanted a purpose-built facility and a site was located, but no money was available six months ago. It is available now but it will take two years to build the facility. What services are going to be provided in the next two years for the children who badly need the facilities? There are more questions to be answered. Officials in the HSE have misled successive Ministers on this issue and I would like answers.
I thank Deputy Pat Deering for raising this matter. My colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, is very much aware of the importance of respite service provision for the families of children with disabilities, as I am. I also acknowledge the impact that the absence of respite service provision can have on families. Respite services for the parents of children in Carlow were previously provided by Holy Angels in Tír na nÓg. In December 2015, the Holy Angels day care centre advised HIQA and the HSE of the decision of the board of management to close Tír na nÓg from January 2016. In March 2016, an alternative day respite provision was set up in partnership with the HSE and Holy Angels. It was agreed that the alternative arrangement would continue to be provided by Holy Angels in the Delta centre for an interim period.
I am informed that it has been challenging to source appropriate premises to include provision for overnight respite purposes which would be both compliant with HIQA standards and suitable for children. On 28 September 2016, the HSE met with representatives from an external voluntary agency to consider a proposal to use one of their premises in the Carlow-Kilkenny area, to which the Deputy referred. It was at all times understood that the external service provider owned the house in question and it was agreed that the HSE could proceed to utilise the premises for the delivery of respite services therein until such time as a permanent respite house could be provided. In preparing to implement the agreement, the HSE sought information from the agency with regard to the property in question. During this process, it became apparent that the agency did not own the premises in question and the HSE was unable to implement the agreement to use the premises for respite.
It is the intention of the HSE to continue to seek a suitable premises for the provision of respite services. The long-term intention of the HSE is to develop a new purpose-built respite service for Carlow-Kilkenny. I will pass on to the Minister of State the Deputy's question about where the funding has come from but funding has been identified to progress the development of this facility so that a stand-alone respite house can be purpose built. The HSE is engaging architects to finalise a design to build a purpose-built respite house in conjunction with Enable Ireland. This project will take approximately two years to complete but will provide a sustainable, permanent respite facility.
Separately, the respite tender process was completed in January 2017 and all parties notified of the outcome. Enable Ireland is the successful provider and the families of children in the Carlow-Kilkenny area have been informed. Consent will be sought from all families to commence a process of transferring client information to the new provider, Enable Ireland. Enable Ireland will identify a suitable location for respite services and will seek HIQA registration. The HSE, in conjunction with Enable Ireland, is working towards providing overnight centre-based respite services as soon as suitable premises can be identified. In the interim, the HSE continues to work in close collaboration with Enable Ireland to develop alternative models of overnight respite, such as holiday breaks and in-home respite.
The HSE will continue to engage and meet regularly with parents in Carlow and Kilkenny and, as the Deputy said, they met most recently on 26 April 2017 in both counties in regard to the provision of respite services. I will take many of the Deputy's comments on board and will bring them back to the Minister.
I thank the Minister of State for the response. This has led to a very frustrating situation in Carlow and there are many more questions left unanswered.
While the Minister of State outlined the background, there is no new information in that regard. The good news is that a new house potentially will be built. However, three years ago a local developer proposed to provide money to build a facility and was not allowed to do so. He provided a site for free and provided expertise. He applied for planning permission, but was not allowed to do so. We have wasted three years at this stage.
Enable Ireland won the tender to provide the service, but now it has no service to provide. It has no facility to allow it to carry out the work required. Enable Ireland won the tender to provide respite services for children who badly need them. The children and their families require this service and it is essential that it exists. Enable Ireland is out there to provide this service that does not exist. Will it be paid for this service that will not exist? That is a big question that has to be answered. What facilities will be available for them?
Two years is a long time. In this whole sorry saga, things keep changing time and time again. We need definite answers as to why this has come to pass at this stage. Why were the legal issues over ownership of the house not sorted out initially rather than carrying out the tendering process, appointing Enable Ireland and, most unfortunately, telling the parents of these children that the service would be available in July 2017 when it was never going to be there? Those are the big questions that need to be answered.
I agree that the situation is far from ideal for the families involved. It is now important to put in place a plan and to stick to it. Obviously, as the Deputy has outlined, that has not happened in previous years. It is important that Enable Ireland has been appointed. The priority is to identify a suitable residence where it can provide this service. While I do not want to say "think outside the box", in the interim it will need to use the resources available to it to provide the best service it possibly can to the standard required.
I cannot answer all the questions the Deputy has asked, but I will bring them back to the Minister of State. The long-term goal is for a purpose-built building. It is obviously a positive sign that plans have been already drawn up and that an architect is working on them. The Deputy's concerns are very valid and I will certainly bring them back to the Minister of State and ask him to ensure the plan is adhered to and work continues in the right direction.
Western Development Commission
I will be sharing my time with Deputy Anne Rabbitte.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this issue. As I am sure the Minister of State is aware, in the past week we heard of the shock announcement that the chairman of the Western Development Commission is resigning.
That is not true.
He is not seeking reappointment.
That is the thing; he did not resign.
Fair enough.
The Deputy should get it clear.
He will not seek reappointment because he is frustrated with what is going on.
From coverage on local radio stations, the Minister of State will have heard of Mr. Paddy McGuinness's frustration. Based on what he has seen in recent years, he believes there is no commitment from Government. If this were coming from somebody who had been giving out about things down through the years, it would not raise an eyebrow. However, this is coming from a person who has a passion for rural Ireland and wants to see things happening. He has worked with politicians and I believe he was involved in the Minister of State's party at one stage. Would that be fair to say? He has the belief that rural Ireland can be revamped. However, the statements we have read and what we have heard over the past week indicate that the man is totally frustrated with what has happened and he believes there is no commitment from Government. He is saying that there is lip service, but actions speak louder than words. I would like to hear the Minister of State's views on what can be done. There needs to be a good relationship with the WDC.
I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for sharing his time.
The level of frustration shown by this gentleman in not looking for reappointment speaks volumes. We believe in rural Ireland, as does this man. Many people believe there is a real good emphasis on rural Ireland, but unfortunately under the WDC at this time there seems to be a lack of vision and a lack of commitment by the Government. Isolation and disillusionment are words that come to mind. Regrettably, when we should be moving forward, we feel we are being left behind. When we feel we should be going further in developing rural Ireland and believing in it, we feel there is a lack of belief, vision and appetite within the Government to deliver for us. That is very disillusioning for the people living in the WDC area.
We would not have brought this to the floor of the House this evening if we did not believe in this man and if we did not believe in what the WDC stands for in driving on for western Ireland and the western seaboard. The Minister of State is from the west and understands where we are coming from. We did not want to come in here this evening and we do not want to bash. In all fairness, there is a lack of vision and commitment. I look forward to what the Minister of State has to say to re-instil confidence. I tabled a number of parliamentary questions on the matter recently. A total of €28 million has been allocated. I would like to know how much of that is spent on administration. I would like to get a breakdown of the investment by sector and by county.
I thank the Deputies for raising the issue. The comments of the former chairman of the WDC have received much attention in the past week, arising from a letter he copied to all Members of this House. In his letter, the former chairman contends that there is no commitment to balanced regional development or any plan to redress rural decline.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Regional and rural development is a key priority for the Government, as reflected in the many commitments in the Programme for a Partnership Government to support regional and rural progress. Significant developments in this regard include the publication of the action plan for rural development in January of this year, which represents the first ever whole-of-Government approach to the economic and social development of rural Ireland.
The plan contains more than 270 firm commitments across a range of Departments, State agencies and other bodies to improve the social and economic development of rural Ireland. These are firm actionable commitments for delivery within a specified timeframe and with the bodies responsible for delivery clearly identified. This action plan is about delivery; it is not a piece of academic work to be left on the shelf. The plan has been widely welcomed, including by Pat Spillane, who was chairman of the CEDRA group, and is now acting as an ambassador for the plan.
Good progress has been already made on delivering the action plan, including in my own Department through the launch of initiatives such as the town and village renewal scheme, the CLÁR programme, the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme and capital grants for local arts and cultural centres.
I have also established a task force to progress the concept of an Atlantic economic corridor along the western seaboard. The forthcoming national planning framework, which is being co-ordinated on behalf of the Government by the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, will be also a significant milestone in the planning for long-term effective and balanced regional development.
On a national radio programme last week, the presenter put it to the former chairman of the Western Development Commission that the body is involved in the monitoring of action plan for rural development, the action plans for jobs for the west and north west regions, the Atlantic economic corridor task force and in assisting my Department with preparations for Brexit.
In response, the former chairman stated that quite a bit of what was read out was new to him and that he had not heard it before. This is in spite of the fact that the acting CEO of the WDC and other staff of the commission have been actively engaged in all of the initiatives I have outlined. All of this would suggest that the former chairman has not been keeping up with developments in the organisation he had chaired.
I have no doubt about the likes of the Minister of State's commitment. The bottom line, and Mr. Paddy McGuinness would say the same thing, is that there are plans, reviews, task forces and everything one could dream of in the programme for Government, but actions speak louder than words. It is nearly a year since this Government was formed. The reality is that the TEN-T funding is the one thing the previous Government took out of funding for the west of Ireland. That is crucial for the west and the likes of the western arc. The Minister of State spoke about an Atlantic economic corridor and that is a good thing. I know the Minister of State cannot do it on his own and I am not having a go at him. The bottom line is that we have a Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who does not seem to know where the west of Ireland is located. Roads are required, as the Minister of State knows, down to his own town of Castlebar and on to Westport. If I leave Mullingar and there is a tractor in front of me, it is all over for me. Where is the funding for the road to Sligo? People in Donegal deserve a life. Actions speak louder than words. Instead of that, there are Departments trying to downgrade the likes of Galway port. When that is happening, we see this frustration that comes with it.
Frustration is the word that comes to mind - absolute frustration. There is a lack of action and a lack of vision. While the Minister of State has listed so much, and he is right about the Atlantic corridor and everything else which I have heard all about, it is not materialising on the ground. That is what is frustrating people. They are seeing it in the papers but not on their own roads or in their own communities. The Minister of State talked about various Departments working really well together. However, one Department that is letting down rural Ireland is the Department of Social Protection. It is the Department that is pulling out the bare necessities and the bare threads keeping communities together. While we might have all of the actions to develop and kickstart rural Ireland, if we do not have the Tús workers, the rural social scheme workers and if they are not provided with supervisors on the ground to keep communities selling the best of their wares, we will not be able to bring in tourists and sell what is really good in the west of Ireland. We are failing them.
I am not going to read out the speech provided. I will say it straight from the heart. If they want it, I will give both of the Deputies a copy of the letter from the chairman of the Western Development Commission. It is amazing. It is from 27 October 2016. That was not 1916, but 2016. The letter from Mr. McGuinness stated the following:
I write to express my delight, relief and thanks for your decision to progress the three matters outlined in your letter received last week. The speed with which you have moved on these issues is in sharp contrast with my experience with two of them prior to your appointment. Your letter was circulated at our board meeting on Tuesday last and the members indicated their admiration for your decisiveness.
They admired me, my decisiveness and everything else. I do not know what happened in six months. In response to Deputy Rabbitte's point about the rural social scheme, we have provided 500 places on the rural social scheme.
Absolutely.
I welcome every single one of them.
So do I, but-----
Good girl. The town and village renewal scheme is up and launched, as is the CLÁR programme. The report of the post office working group is completed. The public consultation process for public banking is done. There is the economic Atlantic corridor. What we are trying to do is compete with the east coast to deal with the infrastructure about which Deputy Fitzmaurice talked. I agree with him 100% that the more infrastructure we get in the west of Ireland, the better. The greatest thing that ever happened to the west was the Wild Atlantic Way, about which some of Deputy Rabbitte's colleagues complained. As soon as we got the Wild Atlantic Way up and running, they wanted something for Dublin and for the midlands. They were so jealous that the Wild Atlantic Way was working so well. I can go on. The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, is doing a superb job in regard to flooding. He has worked so hard on that in recent months and he has it up and running. With regard to the arts, €9 million was invested and 80% of that went to rural Ireland. The Minister, Deputy Naughten, is working on broadband and mobile phone coverage. There are many other positive things happening. What we want is more positivity.
Go raibh maith agat.
What we want to stop doing with rural Ireland is having people knocking it at every opportunity they get. There is a lot of positivity-----
A Aire-----
-----a lot of people working, a lot of employment, a lot of multinationals and a lot of companies investing in rural Ireland. I am very proud to be a part of this Government that will deliver further on what we have already delivered for rural Ireland. I am not even going to read out what the officials said in the speech because this is what I believe in myself.
Build the roads and the businesses will come. That is the Ring rant over.
We need to leave time for the other Topical Issues. Ná téigh thar am, más féidir.
Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme
I thank the Minister for taking this very important Topical Issue on disadvantaged areas, which are now called areas of natural constraints. Some 52% of my own county of Laois is designated as disadvantaged. Huge tracts of Offaly are also designated as disadvantaged areas. Some €3.2 million is going to 1,700 farmers in County Laois under this scheme. It is a priority that the existing areas in the east and west of the county are kept in the scheme. I note the change in the criteria from socio-economic and biophysical to biophysical and science alone.
The important point for us in the Dáil is that if we and the EU want to continue food production on marginal land or areas of natural constraints, we will have to continue with this modest subsidy, which works out at about €2,000 per farmer. At present, it is based on the district electoral divisions, DEDs, which are very big. They can take in a huge part of a county. That may be fine for many of the areas that are dead certs to be in the scheme, such as the slopes of Slieve Bloom, all of Slieve Margy and that area in the east of the county as well. There are other townlands that on the face of it look prosperous enough, but there are groups of farmers within those localities and areas that are severely disadvantaged. I am thinking in particular of farmers whose land goes up to the Barrow. North Laois would be considered prosperous. However, there are farmers there who have suffered from their lands flooding year after year. Parts of several farms run into flood-afflicted areas.
There is an area around the Goul and Erkina basin down at Woodenbridge on the far side of Ballycolla that experiences flooding on a regular basis. This area is surrounded by land that is as good as anything in the Golden Vale. The Minister is familiar with the Golden Vale as a County Cork man. There is land in south Laois as good as that, but there are pockets within that, such as the area around Woodenbridge on the far side of Ballycolla, where farmers experience flooding year after year. We know that when land floods, it does not go back to the way it was straight away this year or the next. It is damaged for a number of years. The scheme is an essential support. I ask in the next round of the scheme, as part of the survey that has to happen according to the European Court of Auditors, that these areas are looked at for inclusion.
A number of farmers in the existing areas of natural constraints have spent money and used it well to improve their holdings and to make them more viable. A lot of the work has involved drainage works and the likes. We do not want to penalise farmers by having them taken out of the scheme just because they have carried out drainage works. The Minister and I both know that drainage works are not jobs for eternity. Drainage often has to be replaced after a decade or two. It requires maintenance, as does other farm infrastructure. It is important that we do not penalise those farmers that are active and have improved their holdings. The priority for Laois is to keep that 52% of land in the scheme and to pick up some of those pockets throughout the county that were not brought into it before because of the DED method of assessment. They are small pockets surrounded by very prosperous farmers and very high quality land. Unfortunately, there are small pockets there as well as adjacent to the bogs in Laois that were left out the last time.
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The areas of natural constraints, ANC, scheme was introduced under the 2014-2020 rural development programme as a replacement for the previous disadvantaged areas and less favoured areas schemes that had been in place since 1975. Payments under the ANC scheme are an important support for farmers across the country in addressing cash flow issues and contributing to the continued growth and development of the agrifood sector.
The scheme was originally introduced in 1975 in recognition of the fact that farmers in particular areas were faced with challenges relating to lower productivity and higher production costs than farmers in other areas where levels of disadvantage were not as pronounced. The significant level of financial support delivered through the scheme in the intervening years was provided in recognition of the fact that such issues posed a significant threat to the future viability of these farming communities. The specific objectives of the scheme are thus structured around themes such as ensuring continued agricultural land use, thereby contributing to the maintenance of a viable rural society; maintaining the countryside; and maintaining and promoting sustainable farming systems which take environmental protection into account. I am very aware of the importance of the scheme to the more than 95,000 farmers who receive the payment annually. With this in mind, I have prioritised efficient payment under the ANC scheme in my Department in recent years. In 2016, payments under the scheme began in mid-September and to date over €201 million has been paid to over 94,000 farmers. With the payment of €1.18 billion to some 124,000 farmers under the 2016 basic payment scheme, this is a very important financial support for the agrifood sector and farm families in rural Ireland.
Under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, finalised in 2013, the new rural development regulations introduced a change in how eligible areas under the ANC scheme were to be defined. The designation of eligible areas under the scheme to date has been based on a range of socio-economic factors. The factors included particular stocking levels, family farm income levels, population density and the percentage of the total working population engaged in agriculture. The change introduced in the new rural development regulations required from 2018 eligible areas to instead be designated using a set list of biophysical criteria. In cases where a member state does not introduce this system for payment, the regulations set out that the old scheme remains in place but payments must be phased out on a digressive basis. The purpose of the change is linked with a concern at European Union level that areas were not being designated as disadvantaged in a consistent manner across the various member states. The biophysical criteria set out in the legislation to underpin the new system of designation are low temperature, dryness, excess soil moisture, limited soil drainage, unfavourable texture and stoniness, shallow rooting depth, poor chemical properties and steep slope.
My Department has commenced work on the project and relevant technical experts are working on sourcing and analysing the data for the new criteria. Departmental officials have also been in contact with the joint research centre and the Directorate General for Agriculture, DG Agri, in the European Commission about technical issues arising. The ongoing analysis will identify areas deemed to be facing natural constraints which will, in parallel, be subject to a refinement process. A number of the criteria I have listed will not have an impact on the new designation in Ireland, while others will have a small impact. In effect, the Irish process will be most impacted on by soil drainage and soil moisture excess. As outlined previously, in the original rural development regulations, the new ANC designation was scheduled to be in place for the 2018 scheme year. This is the timeline towards which my Department has been working. However, as part of the ongoing discussion on amendments to regulations at EU level, Austria raised the possibility of extending the deadline on an optional basis. Ireland supported this proposal, with Latvia, Slovenia, Poland, Luxembourg, France, Germany and Slovakia. The proposal is passing through the relevant approval process at EU level, with a number of other regulatory changes in what is referred to as the omnibus proposal. The technical work is ongoing; thus it is not possible lo set out the final set of areas to be eligible for payment. However, given the importance of the ANC scheme in the Irish context, officials in my Department are continuing to engage with our colleagues at EU level in order to ensure the best possible outcome of the review is secured. I am also aware that many farmers will have a direct interest in the outcome of this process. Accordingly, I expect consultation to take place with key stakeholders as the process develops further.
The Minister is taking an active interest in this issue, but it is very important that we get it right. There are media reports that he supports a two-year postponement of the completion of the assessment for the new areas under the natural constraint scheme. Will he clarify its status? Reports at the weekend stated he supported the proposal, with Austria. He also mentioned some other countries.
There is a fear the maps will be done and dusted and sent to Brussels without farmers or the county IFA committees having an input. I ask for local consultation in each area. The IFA is holding meetings around the country. I ask the Department to do something similar in each county and have local consultations with farmers in order that they can make submissions to officials from the Department. I also ask for an appeals system to be established.
In 2009, some €250 million was available, but this figure was cut after the financial crash and is now €205 million. The programme for Government commits to an extra €25 million this year for the scheme. Will the Minister confirm that it is being delivered on? I checked again today and it is included in the programme for Government. It is also important. We need to get the funding figure back up. The sum of €25 million would bring it half way back, to €230 million. It is important that funding for the overall scheme in the State be brought back to €250 million.
It is essential that all areas in County Laois in the scheme are kept in it. It is essential that the pockets about which I talked that are adjacent to the Barrow, Goul and Erkina rivers and areas adjacent to boglands that are severely disadvantaged in the middle of the county be included. There are three very large bogs in the middle of the county and much of the land adjoining them is very poor. The DED assessment does not do this. Will the Minister confirm that smaller pockets will be looked at this time?
I have listened carefully to and noted the points the Deputy has made about County Laois. They are similar to points raised by other representatives in the Deputy's constituency, including my colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan.
The Deputy asked about an extension of the time for implementation. Amendments to regulations in this area are being considered by the European Commission. In that context, an extension of the timeline beyond 2018 was sought by Austria. It was supported by us. Refinements of the regulations have yet to be finalised, but we remain hopeful there will be an extension of the timeline. Whether it will be a one or two-year extension is not clear at this stage. I envisage there will be an appeals system which will involve consultation with and the provision of information for stakeholders, including farm organisations.
On the issue of DEDs or townlands, it is my understanding the regulation, as drafted, provides for the consideration of areas by district electoral division or subsets of the district electoral division, of which townlands are one. There is a question around the scaling of information at micro level within the DED at townland level. It is something that has not yet been finalised. I understand the point the Deputy makes that a DED can cover a broad expanse and that there may be pockets within it in which there are variations of the biophysical criteria. There is a commitment to provide an additional €25 million for next year and it is a commitment the Government intends to honour.
In budget 2018.
Yes. This is 2017.