Written Answers Nos. 121-30
121. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he or his Department officials have had any meetings to discuss the 1916 commemorations recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19930/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Oireachtas Working Group on Commemorations, which I chair, meets on a regular basis to discuss issues relating to the decade of centenaries, and the 1916 commemorations in particular. The most recent meeting of the Working Group took place on 29 April last. As has been previously outlined to the House, the commemorative programme is a comprehensive exploration of our history that keeps pace with the centenary timeline. I believe that this approach will provide an important contextual setting for the commemorations of the 1916 period.
Most initiatives to date this year related to key events leading towards the Easter Rising, to be complemented by commemorations in August and beyond marking the outbreak of World War 1. Events in 2014 in relation to 1916 activities adhering to this historic timeline include the following: 21 March: conference on the Curragh Mutiny organised by Trinity College at the Curragh. 2 April: commemoration of the founding of Cumann na mBan led by the President, with a wreath-laying ceremony in co-operation with the Defence Forces; a visit to prominent women's grave, including that of Nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell, who accompanied Pearse at the surrender. 3 April: unveiling of plaque at Wynn's Hotel to mark the inaugural meeting of Cumann na mBan. 4-5 April: conference organised by the Women’s History Association of Ireland at the National Museum in Collins Barracks. Issue of special commemorative postage stamp.
Options are being explored to partner with local communities and discussions are ongoing with the Department of Defence to mark the landing of arms at Howth and Kilcoole by the Irish Volunteers and the loss of life incident at Bachelor's Walk at end-July. Later in the year, the passing and suspension of the third Home Rule Bill will be marked and subsequently the position of John Redmond and the Irish Parliamentary Party on participation in the war will be addressed.
122. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reasons the National Parks and Wildlife Service issued the licensed killing of an individual pine marten; the reason no other non-lethal alternative was applied to this animal; where this killing took place and in which county; the other licences for the killing of pine martens that have been granted in the past five years by the NPWS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20798/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 23 of 17 April 2014 which sets out the reasoning for my Department’s decision to licence the killing of a single pine marten in this particular instance. The trapping and/or killing of pine martens is carefully licensed by my Department. A decision to grant permission to kill a pine marten would only be taken after a detailed application has been received and the matter assessed under Section 42 of the Wildlife Acts. Such decisions are very rare, and only one such permission has been granted in the last five years, for a premises in County Mayo.
123. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 313 of 11 March 2014, and a follow-up letter to him personally requesting if he will make the information cited in the parliamentary question available, if he will state definitively if he will release this information or not; and if he is deliberately delaying the release of said information. [20657/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe complaint in relation to the National Postcode procurement process was made under the EU pilot scheme which is managed in Ireland by the Department of the Taoiseach. Accordingly, my Department wrote to the Department of the Taoiseach on 19 March seeking the release of information from the European Commission in relation to the complaint. I understand that the request was forwarded to the Commission by the Department of the Taoiseach; as of yet, no response has been received from the Commission. While I have no objection to the release of the information, pending the response of the Commission, I am not in a position to do so. I am advised that there are alternative pathways open to citizens who wish to review documents of interest in their personal or business affairs that emanate from the Commission. Information in relation to the submission and processing of such information requests is available on www.asktheeu.org.
124. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will include the village of Skeheenarinky, County Tipperary in the national broadband roll-out announced recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20668/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra126. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the timeframe for the roll-out of fibre broadband in 15 locations in County Wicklow (details supplied) through State intervention as part of the national broadband plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20698/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra130. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if Baile na hAbhann and An Tulach in County Galway are included in the fibre broadband roll-out plan; the companies that will carry out the work in these areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20704/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 124, 126 and 130 together.
The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published in August 2012, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses. This will be achieved by providing: a policy and regulatory framework that assists in accelerating and incentivising commercial investment, and a State-led intervention for areas where it is not commercial for the market to invest.
Since the publication of the Plan, investments by the commercial sector are underway and in some instances have been accelerated in both fixed line and wireless high speed broadband services. Commercial operators combined have either invested, or committed to invest, over €2 billion in their Irish networks, delivering high speed broadband to homes and businesses. For example: Eircom is rolling out a €400m investment in a Next Generation Access Fibre Network that offers speeds of up to 100Mbps. Service is already available to over 800,000 addresses, with planned coverage to reach 1.4m addresses by 2016. UPC has invested over €500m in upgrading its cable network. Over 700,000 homes can already access minimum broadband speeds of 120Mbps and up to 200Mbps. Businesses can access speeds of 500Mbps. ESB is engaged in a new project allowing a fibre network to be rolled-out on its existing electricity infrastructure. It is understood that discussions between ESB and Vodafone to form a new Joint Venture Company are at an advanced stage. The company has initial plans to construct a fibre network directly to 450,000 premises outside of Dublin and it is expected that details will be announced over the coming weeks. Mobile operators have launched 4G high speed mobile broadband services following ComReg’s multiband spectrum auction. There has also been continued investment by all operators in enhancing and broadening 3G services and network improvements. Fixed wireless operators are continuing to invest in high speed point-to-point wireless broadband. The broadcaster Sky has entered the broadband market, increasing choice for consumers.
Of the estimated 2.3m premises in Ireland, approximately 1.4m are expected to be served by these commercial next generation broadband services over the coming years. This accelerated roll out of high speed services by the commercial sector means that the addressable area required by the State intervention has been reduced by 30% since the National Broadband Plan was launched. While the commercial developments are welcome the acceleration of investment is largely contained to cities and towns. The speeds that are available in these areas are demonstrably better than those that are available in more rural areas.
On 25 April, I signalled the Government's commitment to a major telecommunications network build-out to rural Ireland, with fibre as the foundation of its investment under the National Broadband Plan. This commitment is a clear expression of Government’s determination to address the connectivity challenge in rural Ireland in a meaningful and sustainable way. Central to the strategy will be a fibre build-out to locations in every county in the State identified as having no existing or planned enabling fibre network. It is intended that the fibre will be delivered directly to access points for homes and businesses, where service providers can utilise the fibre to provide high speed services to end users. The fibre build-out will also ensure that fibre is deployed to strategic locations on each route such as schools, business hubs and health facilities. The fibre build out will be part of an end-to-end strategy that will address all parts of Ireland that cannot access commercial high speed broadband services.
I have published a county-by-county list of towns and villages which have already been identified for a fibre build-out. This is an indicative list and is subject to the completion of the comprehensive mapping process currently underway. Further locations may be identified as this process continues. Similarly, it may be determined that some locations on the list will be addressed by the commercial sector and will therefore not require State intervention. Currently I envisage that a total of 84 areas in County Galway, 79 areas in County Tipperary and 15 areas in County Wicklow will be included in the proposed fibre build-out. The list is available on my Departments website www.dcenr.gov.ie.
In tandem with the fibre build-out, the Strategy will include measures to respond to aggregated community demand for services, and the provision of access services in the most remote areas where fibre rollout may be insufficient to stimulate commercial investment or may be cost-prohibitive. Intensive design work is ongoing in the Department with a view to publishing an end-to-end implementation strategy later this year, together with the outcome of the mapping exercise which will identify the areas that require intervention. A full public consultation will take place once the strategy is published and EU State Aids clearance will be required for the intervention strategy once finalised. It is expected that the detailed procurement process will take place in 2015 with a view to commencing construction of the fibre network and provision of services in the areas that require intervention as quickly as possible.
The EU Commission’s guidelines on state aid for high speed broadband infrastructure preclude member states from intervening in regions in which private investors have demonstrated plans to roll out their own infrastructure within the following three years. In this regard it is noted that at least one network operator has published a programme to roll out a fibre-based broadband network in Counties Galway, Tipperary and Wicklow , which includes rolling out these services in 57 locations in Galway, 43 locations in Tipperary and 28 locations in Wicklow by July 2016.
I fully share the concerns of local representatives about the quality of broadband in rural areas. I intend to ensure that rural Ireland enjoys similar opportunities to urban areas by ensuring an end-to end market intervention with fibre as a core component. In committing to a fibre build-out at the heart of this strategy, the Government is acknowledging that broadband is the key infrastructure of the 21st century.
125. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the name of the person in his Department who assigns licences to fish for salmon in Galway Bay-Killary Harbour; the maximum quota of salmon that can be fished from Lough Corrib per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20682/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe allocation of commercial fishing licences is governed by the Control of Fishing for Salmon Order which identifies a number of categories of applicant depending on, inter alia, the applicant’s previous fishing history. The issuing of licences is administered by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). The applications are considered by the Board of IFI and decisions are made in advance of the start of the commercial fishing season which commences on 12 May each year. Regulations are made annually, following statutory public consultation, for the management of the wild salmon and sea trout fishery, based on the management advice provided by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). IFI is supported in its management of stocks by a statutorily based Standing Scientific Committee on Salmon comprising scientists from IFI, an Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Loughs Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Marine Institute, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI- Northern Ireland) other State bodies and third level institutions.
This independent scientific committee assesses and offers advice on the predicted stocks status in all 143 Irish salmon rivers each year against that rivers conservation limit using the most recent five years of available data from the catchment. The conservation limit is the number of adult salmon required on each river to maintain a healthy population; the stock level that maximizes the long-term average surplus. If a river stock is determined to have surplus fish that are over and above the conservation limit for that river, a total allowable catch is declared. The total allowable catch for the Corrib for the 2014 season is 6,246.
The Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (Bag Limits) Bye-law No 915, 2013 (for the 2014 season) provides for an annual bag limit of 10 fish, being either salmon or sea trout (over 40 cm in length) per angler and provides for a season bag limit of 3 fish in the period 1 January to 11 May, a daily bag limit of 3 fish from 12 May to 31 August and a daily bag limit of 1 fish from 1 September to the end of the season.
127. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 111 of 16 April 2014, to the effect that responsibility for protecting the freshwater pearl mussel falls within the remit of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, if he is satisfied that all of the actions taken by Inland Fisheries Ireland and/or its predecessor organisations in their management of rivers for fish conservation or angling promotion purposes over the past 15 years have been consistent with the need to conserve the freshwater pearl mussel; if he will confirm that none of the actions taken by the IFI and/or its predecessor organisations over the period had a negative impact on the conservation status of the freshwater pearl mussel for which he is responsible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20701/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs outlined in reply to Questions Nos. 245 of 4 March and 111 of 16 April, responsibility for protecting freshwater pearl mussels is a matter for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and there is on-going liaison with Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) in the context of their management of River Basin Districts to ensure consistency in the responsibilities of both Agencies. I am advised that the on-going liaison between IFI and NPWS is the most effective operational composition to ensure this consistency in approach. If the Deputy can identify a specific query or issues regarding any of this liaison and/or activity over the time frame he sets out, I would be happy to have inquiries made and to arrange a direct response from IFI.
128. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 113 of 16 April 2014, if he is satisfied that the opening of the rivers specified in that question for the catching and killing of salmon is fully justified by reference to the surplus in their salmon conservation limit as confirmed in his response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20702/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs I stated in reply to Question No. 113 of 16 April, Ireland manages salmon stocks on an individual river basis. This management is carried out by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the State Agency with statutory responsibility for inland fisheries under the 2010 Inland Fisheries Act. The individual river management strategy is based on the fact that each of Ireland’s 143 salmon rivers has its own unique stock of salmon which migrates to sea as juveniles and returns to the same river in adulthood to spawn and create the next generation of fish exclusive to that river.
IFI is supported in its management of salmon stocks by a statutorily based independent Standing Scientific Committee on Salmon (SSCS) comprising scientists from IFI, an Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Loughs Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Marine Institute, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI- Northern Ireland) other State bodies and third level institutions. This independent scientific committee assesses and offers advice on the predicted stocks status in all 143 Irish salmon rivers each year against that rivers conservation limit using the most recent five years of available data from the catchment. The conservation limit is the number of adult salmon required on each river to maintain a healthy population - the stock level that maximizes the long-term average surplus.
Harvest fisheries (recreational or commercial) are only allowed on individual river stocks which are shown to have a surplus of fish over their conservation limit, based on the most recent five year data on upstream salmon runs in individual rivers. In the case of the Newport system, SSCS advice is given separately for one sea winter and multi sea winter salmon stocks. This policy, based on the conservation imperative, has been applied to the rivers referred to by the Deputy.
129. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 113 of 16 April 2014, the reason for the apparent contradiction in his answer where he states that the information requested by this Deputy going back from 2006 to 2013 is not readily available and yet he presents the data for the period from 2007 to 2013 but not the data from 2003 to 2013 as requested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20703/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI understand that a comprehensive schedule of research carried out by IFI for the period 2007-2013 has already been supplied to the Deputy. The written response to Question No 113 of 16 April last, contained a typographical error and should have read “I am advised by Inland Fisheries Ireland the information requested by the Deputy going back from 2006 to 2003 is not readily available”, whereas the response, in error, referred to the lack of data for the period 2006 to 2013. Any confusion caused by this typographical error is regretted and I trust this clarifies the matter.
