Written Answers Nos. 240-251
240. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when an agri-environment option scheme 2 payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; the reason for the delay in payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23561/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1st September 2011 and has received 75% payment totalling €849.93 in respect of 2011.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme, a comprehensive administrative check of all applications, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. The person named also was selected for a ground inspection which took place on 8th May 2012. During this inspection, areas of non-compliance with the terms and condition of the scheme were noted in relation to the Natura option which resulted in a penalty being imposed. The person named was informed of the nature of the penalty and the appeal options and as no appeal has been received, the application has been processed for payment on the basis of the inspection findings and the balancing 25% payment (net of penalty) will issue shortly.
Payments in respect of the 2012 Scheme year are subject to a similar administrative checking process which includes verification of capital investments through checks on receipts. These checks have now been completed and following the payment for 2011, the payment in respect of 2012 will be finalised.
241. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there has been a continued delay with the issuance of agri-environment option scheme payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23564/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1st September 2011.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme, a comprehensive administrative check of all applications, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. The person named was also selected for a ground inspection which took place on 11th May 2012. During this inspection, areas of non-compliance with the terms and condition of the scheme were noted in relation to the Planting of New Hedgerow and Tree Planting – Standard options which resulted in a penalty of 20% being imposed. The person named was informed of the nature of the penalty and the appeal option and as no appeal has been received, the application has been processed for payment on the basis of the inspection findings and payment (net of penalty) in respect of 2011 will issue shortly.
Payments in respect of the 2012 Scheme year are subject to a similar administrative checking process. Following payment for the 2011 scheme year, the 2012 application will be finalised.
242. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) in County Cork was unable to purchase milk quota in 2011 when they were under 35 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23576/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe named person was one of more than 200 farmers who applied under the Category of ‘brand new applicants’ to this Department’s 2011 New Entrants to Dairying Scheme. Each year’s Scheme involves, within this Category, the allocation of 10 million litres of milk quota to 50 applicants who previously were not involved in milk production or did not hold a milk quota and whose application and business plan, in the opinion of an independent assessment panel, best demonstrated evidence of a viable and sustainable enterprise going forward.
The assessment panel, having completed its examination of the 2011 applications, was of the view that the named person’s application and business plan, when compared with other applications received in the same Category, did not achieve a sufficiently high standard for inclusion in the list submitted for approval.
243. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the level of Exchequer funding the Foróige organisation has received in Waterford City and county in each of the past five years. [23490/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra244. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of full and part-time Foróige staff employed in Waterford each year over the past five years; and the total staff hours involved per year. [23491/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 243 and 244 together.
The information requested by the Deputy has been sought and I will write directly to the Deputy in the coming days.
245. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the total Exchequer funding allocated to Foróige nationally in each of the past five years; and the number of Foróige groups that received funding, by county, in each of those years. [23492/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy has been sought and I will write directly to the Deputy in the coming days.
246. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on recent media reports that there is a lack of space in children's detention centres, particularly that a unit in one of the centres cannot be used due to staffing issues; if she will ensure that all spaces in such centres are made available or that alternative residential arrangements can be made for children at risk of harming themselves or others who appear before the courts. [23519/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe current lack of bed spaces in the Children Detention Schools, at Oberstown, County Dublin has been caused by a recent increase in the number of young people being referred by the Courts, compared to the trend over the past few years. This has put severe pressure on the number of bed spaces available in the Children Detention Schools.
I am considering all options to resolve the matter and my Department is working closely with the Board of Management of the detention schools to resolve the staffing issues which have delayed the opening of an 8 bed unit in Trinity House School.
The Irish Youth Justice Service of my Department operates a bed management system, on a 24 hour basis and will continue to ensure that the courts are notified of beds as they become available.
Following extensive conciliation and staff consultation facilitated by the Labour Relations Commission, a new cross campus roster which provided for flexibility in the deployment of staff across the campus came into operation with effect from 25 February 2013. This replaced rostering arrangements which had been in place for over 30 years and is at the early stages of its implementation. However, staff absenteeism has meant that it has not been possible to reopen an 8 bed unit in Trinity House School, which when open will provide additional capacity to the courts.
An extensive audit of the new rostering arrangements is currently underway and the efficiency and effectiveness of these new arrangements will be reviewed.
I assumed legal responsibility for the Children Detention Schools in Oberstown on 1 January 2012. On 2 April 2012, I announced a capital investment package for the Oberstown Children Detention schools project in Lusk, Co Dublin. This project is on target and construction is due to start in July 2013 and 3 new units will be completed by mid 2014. Tenders for the new development were received on 3 May 2013 and the evaluation of tenders received will be carried out by the Office of Public Works over the coming weeks.
The Government remains fully committed to ending the use of St Patrick’s Institution for the detention of children by developing the required facilities on the Oberstown campus.
With effect from 1 May 2012, I also announced the ending of the practice of detaining 16 year old boys in St Patrick’s Institution through using existing capacity that was available on the Oberstown children detention school campus. Since July 2012 there have been no 16 year old boys detained in St Patrick’s Institution. The numbers being detained in Oberstown have, however, increased significantly.
I am satisfied that the decision to have 16 year old boys detained in the detention schools and end the practice of sending them to St. Patrick’s Institution was the correct one and fulfils Government and international imperatives to end the imprisonment of children. This decision was taken following detailed consideration of patterns of remands and committals of children over the previous 2 years.
247. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Health his views on the recent ruling by the Scottish Supreme Court in favour of the legality of the Scottish Government's plans to introduce minimum alcohol pricing; his views on the implications of this judgement from an Irish perspective; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23441/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI welcome this decision and it is positive for our own proposals for a minimum unit pricing policy.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that real and tangible proposals are currently being finalised on foot of the recommendations in the National Substance Misuse Strategy report. These proposals cover all of the areas mentioned in the report, including legislation on minimum unit pricing which is about setting a statutory floor price per gram of alcohol.
The Cabinet Committee on Social Policy has considered these proposals and I intend to bring forward specific proposals for consideration by Government as soon as possible.
In the meantime, work on developing a framework for the necessary Department of Health legislation is continuing. For example, in conjunction with Northern Ireland, a health impact assessment is being commissioned as part of the process of developing a legislative basis for minimum unit pricing. The health impact assessment will study the impact of different minimum prices on a range of areas such as health, crime and likely economic impact.
248. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if SOUND the organization that represents sufferers of the unique narcolepsy disorder will have an input to any committee which plans for the future care of their members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23480/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra270. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on whether access to international expertise should be made available to SOUND, the organisation that represents Sufferers Of the Unique Narcolepsy Disorder and his Department and the Health Service Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23533/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra272. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health his views on whether sufferers from Narcolepsy should have access to new drug treatments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23538/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 248, 270 and 272 together.
My priority in this area, is to ensure that those affected by narcolepsy, with symptom onset post pandemic vaccination are provided with a range of services and supports to meet their health needs. The Health Service Executive has responsibility for health service delivery and at my request the HSE developed a range of appropriate services and supports to address the needs of this group. Together, the HSE and the Department of Education and Skills provide a very comprehensive range of services to those affected.
Multi-disciplinary assessments are ongoing, all care plans are individualised, based on clinical assessment, assessment by allied health care professionals and educational assessment. This includes input from international expert sleep consultants based in Ireland and any drug therapies as clinically recommended in the individual case. The Health Service Executive advocacy unit is in regular contact with the support group SOUND. Through regional co-ordinators the HSE also has frequent contact with individual members of SOUND.
Treatments and individual medical needs for those diagnosed with narcolepsy may change over time. Every possible effort is being made to provide ongoing individualised treatments, supports and services to those affected by narcolepsy following pandemic vaccination.
249. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health if there will be compensation for chronic illness as a result of the vaccine damage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23482/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is currently examining the recommendations of the Vaccine Damage Steering Group. However, this issue is complex and needs to be considered in the wider context of how best to address the long term health and social needs of people who may have experienced adverse outcomes from other health services.
250. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form on a county basis, the way the €35 million allocated for additional staff in mental health services in Budget 2013 was spent; the locations at which the positions were created; the amount of additional posts that were created; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23376/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra251. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health if he will outline the way the extra allocation of €35 million for mental health services in Budget 2013 has benefitted service providers and users; if he is satisfied that the allocation has been utilised to the maximum extent possible to increase the level of frontline mental health services available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23377/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 251 together.
An additional €35m was allocated in Budget 2013 for the continued development of our mental health services across a range of headings, including the further development of forensics and community mental health teams for adults, children, older persons and mental health intellectual disability 477 posts have been approved to implement these measures. Discussions took place within the HSE, and in consultation with the Department of Health, to finalise the allocation of these resources and commence recruitment. In March, each of the four HSE regions were asked to submit a business case against each of the identified objectives detailing how the funding is to be spent and the type and number of WTE to be recruited.
Approval has issued to two of the Regions, HSE Dublin North East and HSE South and it is expected that approval will issue to the remaining two HSE Regions shortly. When the Approval Letters issue, the Regional Directors of Operations will ensure that the necessary paperwork is submitted to the HSE National Recruitment Service and the recruitment process will commence. Until this process is completed it is not possible to give a breakdown of new posts by county. I have been assured by the HSE that the recruitment process for the new posts being funded in 2013, and any outstanding posts from the 414 approved in 2012, is being given priority within the HSE.
