Written Answers Nos. 629-645
629. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will send notification letters regarding cattle inspection to the local veterinarians at the same time as they are sent to the farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23160/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe position is that the private veterinary practitioner nominated by the herdowner to carry out the TB test is notified at the same time that their clients are notified of a requirement to test. The notification to the private veterinary practitioner is made on-line via my Department’s Animal Health Computer System or by post where the private veterinary practitioner is not operating on-line.
630. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision will be made on a LPIS overpayment appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23161/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs you may be aware my Department is currently examining 900,000 land parcels declared under the Single Payment Scheme and other area-based Direct Payment Schemes under a comprehensive LPIS review. As part of this review, ineligible areas were identified and removed from parcels declared by the person named and payments were reduced. The person named was notified of this decision and of his right of appeal. Following an appeal from the person named my Department has carried out a review and has rejected the appeal submitted by the person named. The person named has been written to in this regard and advised of his further right of appeal to the Independent LPIS Appeals Committee.
631. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the intended date for the receipt of the first applications under the new GLAS; the intended date for the approval of the first participants; the estimated number of farmers that will take part in the scheme; the estimated average payment to each farmer; the estimated number that will also avail of the GLAS plus option; if payments will be made to farmers at the beginning of their participation or whether the first payments will issue at the end of the first year in the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23220/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 13 May 2014, I announced new details and outline financial allocations in relation to the support measures to be included in the new Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014 – 2020. Work is ongoing in relation of the design of the RDP and it is intended to submit the Programme to the EU Commission at the end of June 2014.
I have allocated a total of €1,450m to the GLAS Scheme and it is anticipated that some 25,000-30,000 farmers will be accepted into the Scheme in 2015 with participation levels rising to 50,000 over the period of the Programme. The maximum payment proposed under GLAS will be €5,000 per annum, and I hope that as many farmers as possible will secure maximum payment in line with their environmental commitments. The GLAS+ payment, which provides for a top-up of up to €2,000 per annum, will initially be targeted at farmers who have to undertake a high number of mandatory actions but other options will be explored over the course of the RDP.
The governing Regulations require that administrative and on-the-spot checks be carried out before payment issues and therefore it is not possible make such payments to farmers on commencement of their new Scheme contracts. As is the case at present, payment of up to 75% of the amount due will be made on completion of the first suite of checks, followed by payment of the balance due when all controls have been applied.
632. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views regarding a serious deterioration in staffing levels at Dublin Port, potentially in breach of health and safety legislation, and the practice of replacing permanent staff with agency workers; if his attention has been drawn to this situation; if he has had it investigated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23299/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department continually reviews staffing levels in all areas of operation in the light of operational needs and overall Government policy on staffing levels. In the context of effective service delivery and compliance with health and safety requirements at my Department’s office at Dublin Port, I am satisfied that there are sufficient resources in place at this location. No agency workers have been employed by my Department at Dublin Port.
633. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a payment under the disadvantaged areas scheme for 2012 will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23312/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs processing 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application of the person named has recently been finalised, following resolution of outstanding issues, payment will issue to the nominated bank account of the person named shortly.
634. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when an application for a herd number will be finalised in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23313/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAll issues relating to this application have now been resolved and the applicant has been advised of the herd number which has been allocated.
635. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the grants or assistance available from his Department for the building of an underpass under a road to carry stock safely; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23329/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are no grants available from my Department at present for the construction of underpasses of public roads.
636. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a payment under the 2013 single payment scheme will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; the reason for the delay in issuing this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23388/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraApplications under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme and Transfer of Entitlements under this Scheme were received from the person named in my Department on 26 April 2013. One of the conditions of the Schemes requires that an applicant be a registered herdowner or have applied to the local District Veterinary Office for a herd number on or before 15 May 2013. The person named was notified on 24 March 2014 that the herd number of her deceased husband was assigned to her. Her application under the Transfer of Entitlements Schemes was approved on 11 April 2014 and it is expected that payment will issue in the near future.
637. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment under the agri-environment options scheme 2 will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; the reason for the delay in issuing this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23389/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1 September 2011 and full entitlements have issued in respect of the 2011 and 2012 Scheme years.
During a 2013 inspection, the person named was found to have non-compliances in respect of the Coppicing of Hedgerows, Laying of Hedgerows and Alternative Water Source for Bovines actions. A letter issued to the person named notifying him of the inspection findings and setting out the appeal option. As no appeal was received my Department processed the file in order to make the 75% payment. In finalising the payment, some additional issues emerged which have now been resolved and I expect payment to issue shortly. The 25% balancing payment will be calculated taking account of penalties due.
638. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason penalties under the 2013 single payment scheme were assessed against a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon; if he will provide details of the penalties assessed against the person; if other penalties have been assessed against the person under other schemes and the schemes and scheme years these penalties refer to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23395/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 2013 Single Farm Payment/Disadvantaged Areas’ Scheme application of the person named was selected for a ground eligibility inspection. This inspection identified discrepancies between the area declared and the area found, resulting in an over-declaration in area of greater than 3% of the area found under the Single Payment Scheme. Based on the Terms and Conditions of this scheme, this resulted in the 2013 payment being based on the found area having being reduced by double the difference between the area found and the area claimed, or the total entitlements held if lower. The claimed area of 19.77 ha was reduced to a found area of 16.37 ha. As the number of entitlements held was 17.09, the total area put forward for payment was 14.93 ha and payment on this basis issued on 4 March 2014.
Under the Disadvantaged Areas’ Scheme the claimed area of 19.77 ha was reduced to a found area of 16.37 ha. As the difference between the area found and the area claimed was greater than 20%, under the terms and conditions of this scheme no payment was due in respect of 2013.
The person named was notified of this decision on 3 January 2014. The person named has appealed this decision and this request is currently being examined. The person named will be informed of the outcome as soon as it is available. In the event that the person named is dissatisfied with the outcome of the review, the decision can be appealed to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office, within 3 months.
The 2013 Rural Environment Protection Scheme application of the person named was selected for an inspection. This inspection identified discrepancies and as a result was given a penalty in the amount of €1,223.47 for non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the Scheme. The non-compliance with Scheme conditions included a 1% penalty for non-compliance with specific requirements under biodiversity undertaking measures (measure 4), a 25% penalty for non-compliance with bovines not being excluded from watercourses/waterbodies marked on the REPS plan map and a 1% penalty for non-compliance with specific measures under biodiversity measures (measure 3). Based on the Terms and Conditions of the scheme, this resulted in the 2013 REPS4 75% payment being reduced from €3,398.55 to €2,175.08. The person named was notified of this decision on 4 February 2014.
639. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her views regarding increased activity from dissident republicans in view of the fact a bomb was found in a Dublin city hotel recently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22179/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe discovery recently of an explosive device in a car at a hotel in Dublin showed the scant regard which some people have for the lives and safety of innocent persons. Deputies will also be aware that the Gardaí interdicted another explosive device last Sunday at Kilcurry in County Louth and made a number of arrests. The Garda authorities, with the assistance of the Defence Forces, are to be congratulated for their prompt actions with regard to these incidents, rendering the devices safe and taking suspects into custody.
The House will appreciate that in circumstances where there are ongoing Garda investigations and where people have been arrested and are facing charges, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail. What I will say is that there is a real and persistent threat posed by certain paramilitary groups on this island whose aim is a return to the misery and bloodshed of past decades. These people have no support in the wider community. Their actions fly in the face of the peaceful wishes of the vast majority of people on this island who abhor these groups and their violence and criminality. With the full support of the Government, the Gardaí and their colleagues in Northern Ireland are working at one in the fight to disrupt and prosecute those who seek through violence to return us to a failed past.
640. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a person who is on parental leave from work can accumulate annual leave entitlements while on parental leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22553/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would draw the Deputy's attention to section 14 of the Parental Leave Act 1998, which provides that all employment rights (with the exception of the right to remuneration or superannuation benefits, or any obligation to pay contributions in or in respect of the employment), are protected while on parental leave. A period of time spent on parental leave accordingly reckons towards calculation of annual leave entitlements. I have no proposals to change this entitlement.
641. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason the Government has not ratified the second UN CRC optional protocol on the sale of children, their use in prostitution and pornography. [22656/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe criminal law elements of the Optional Protocol have largely been implemented by the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 and the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008. On 17 December last, the Government approved the drafting of a wide ranging Sexual Offences Bill. This will include measures to enable full compliance with the criminal law provisions of a number of international legal instruments, including the outstanding requirements in the Optional Protocol so as to facilitate its ratification.
642. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the implications she believes that the recent judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (details supplied) will have for Irish law; her views on whether any legislative change will be required; her views on the potential impact of the judgment on freedom of expression; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22725/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in the Google Spain case on 13 May. In this case, the Court found that when a search engine operator searches for and presents personal information, such an operator 'collects' data within the meaning of the 1995 Data Protection Directive. For the purposes of the Directive, the operator is therefore a data 'controller' and the data subject rights set out in the Directive, including the right to erasure of the personal data, may be invoked by data subjects. The full implications of the Court's ruling for the practical application of data protection law are still being assessed.
In this particular case, the Court found that the data subject, a private individual, had the right to erasure of links to personal information referring to his financial difficulties 16 years earlier because the information had become irrelevant and out of date. The Court noted that there did not appear to be any overriding public interest in this case in having continued access to links to the personal information concerned. Where, however, the removal of such links could, depending on the nature of the information concerned, have an impact on the legitimate interest of internet users interested in having access to the information, the Count held that a fair balance should be sought between that right and the data subject's rights. In the specific context of freedom of expression, the Court made reference to the existing derogations for journalistic, artistic and literary purposes under article 9 of the 1995 Data Protection Directive.
643. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the Garda investigation of a former National Asset Management Agency employee (details supplied) against whom NAMA made a referral pursuant to section 202 of the NAMA Act 2009 to the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation in September 2012. [22850/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra644. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the Garda investigation of the unnamed former National Asset Management Agency employee, against whom NAMA made a referral to Garda, pursuant to section 202 of the NAMA Act, in February 2013. [22851/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra645. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the Garda investigation of the two unnamed National Asset Management Agency borrowers, against whom NAMA had made complaints pursuant to section 7 of the NAMA Act 2009, and which were alluded to by NAMA at its appearance before the Committee of Public Accounts on 18 December 2013; if she will confirm when the complaints were originally referred by NAMA to the Garda. [22852/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra682. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if there is a designated member of An Garda Síochána who is dealing with all complaints made by, and against, the National Asset Management Agency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22853/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra683. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of complaints that are currently being dealt with by An Garda Síochána involving the National Asset Management Agency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22854/14]
Amharc ar fhreagra684. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if her Department has been asked to provide additional resources to An Garda Síochána to assist with complaints involving the National Asset Management Agency; if she is satisfied that the Garda has sufficient resources to deal with existing NAMA related investigations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22855/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 643 to 645, inclusive, and 682 to 684, inclusive, together.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that there are currently investigations relating to 16 complaints in total involving the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA). I am further informed that a Detective Inspector from the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation (GBFI) has been designated as Senior Investigation Officer in relation to all complaints made by, and against, NAMA.
The Deputy will appreciate that, as investigations into these matters are ongoing, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage. The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the allocation of Garda resources, including to Garda national units, such as the GBFI. I am advised that Garda management keep this distribution under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources. I have not received a request for additional resources in the context of these particular investigations.
