Written Answers Nos. 37-40
37. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update regarding implementing the recommendations for fishery harbours in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report titled Financial Management and Reporting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43006/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn the 8th July, the Comptroller and Auditor General published a Special Report on the Financial Management and Reporting for the six Fishery Harbour Centres owned, managed and operated by my Department.
My Department welcomed the C&AG's report which contains a number of valuable recommendations some of which relate to historical issues that have been proactively addressed by my Department. The Department accepts the recommendations of the report and work is underway to implement them.
The report notes that improvements have taken place with regard to the Financial Management arrangements at the Fishery Harbour Centres and focuses on ways to further enhance these arrangements. Since 2007, when my Department took responsibility for the Fishery Harbour Centres, a number of reports have been produced by management in the relevant Division of the Department and the Department's Internal Audit Unit, which precipitated a very significant programme of change that has been implemented in the Fishery Harbour Centres in the intervening years.
The report was the subject of a Public Accounts Committee hearing on 16th October 2014. My Department will continue to implement the recommendations of the report. I regard the implementation of the recommendations as a matter of high priority.
38. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans for Howth Harbour, County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43005/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraHowth Fishery Harbour Centre is one of the six designated Fishery Harbour Centres, which are owned, managed and maintained by my Department. All six Fishery Centres are first and foremost working fishery harbours. However each centre has unique features which facilitate a broad range of other diverse activities which are important from both an economic and social perspective.
My Department is conscious of the importance of both fishing and non fishing activities at the harbours and endeavours to facilitate and develop both. This involves day to day operational support by Harbour staff and management and development and repair of infrastructure subject to available financial resources.
Howth Fishery Harbour Centre is no exception to this diversity, in addition to fishing, there is a wide range of recreational users of the harbour, including the yacht club, sport fishermen, walkers, tourists and other social users. There is a significant number of businesses, particularly restaurants, operating in the Harbour Centre.
Notwithstanding the prevailing economic environment in which we operate, I am happy to be able to advise the House that in excess of €3.2 million has been invested in maintenance, development and upgrading works at Howth FHC as part of my Department's Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme from 2011 to 2013. This investment has resulted in a significant improvement in the electrical infrastructure available, the traffic management system and the access available to persons of reduced mobility. It has also served as a catalyst for the enhancement of facilities available to the marine leisure and tourism sector, boat repair facilities and indeed business generally in the harbour.
In March 2014 I approved funding of €1.18 million for the maintenance and development of Howth Fishery Harbour Centre this year. Major works for 2014 include the continued upgrading of the electrical system.
The development and upkeep of Howth as a state of the art Fishery Harbour Centre, supporting a broad range of marine related activities is and will remain an ongoing process. Any suggestions from Fishery Harbour Users for the development and improvement of the facilities at Howth will, as has been the case, be given due consideration.
While Howth Fishery Harbour Centre is first and foremost a working fishery harbour, my Department is conscious that it is also a very important tourist destination in addition to being a major venue for leisure activities. With that in mind the Department is anxious to increase the profile of the Harbour for the betterment of the wider community.
Balancing the needs of the fishing industry with those of the wider range of harbour users, while delivering on a public service remit will be foremost when considering future developments in the harbour. Of course any new developments will be done on the basis of available exchequer funding and competing National priorities.
39. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he has taken to avoid a situation similar to last year where supermarkets significantly discounted vegetable prices below their production costs in the run up to Christmas and did significant damage to the horticulture industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42805/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraTotal value of production at farm gate level of Irish fruit, vegetables and potatoes was estimated at €433 million in 2013. Of this, over €300m is marketed through Irish supermarkets. The rest is exported (principally mushrooms) or is marketed through smaller retail outlets or the catering trade. According to Bord Bia, fresh fruit and vegetables are the 2 largest categories within the grocery trade at a combined total of 14.5% of turnover. Therefore, the proper marketing of these products is of significant importance to the producer, supermarket and consumer alike.
I, therefore, share the Deputy's concern regarding the marketing of fruit and vegetables in a number of supermarket chains in December 2013. Following on from those events, my colleague Mr. Tom Hayes, Minister of State with responsibility for Horticulture, invited the supermarkets individually to meet him to discuss this and the wider issue of promoting Irish horticultural products. At these meetings, in which most of the supermarkets participated, the Minister was assured that none of them would initiate a similar promotional campaign coming up to Christmas 2014.
As you are also aware, during the course of this year, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation introduced the new Competition and Consumer Protection Act (No 29 of 2014). The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission came into existence on 31 October. The Act also allows for the making of provisions for regulating certain practices in the grocery goods sector. This, I hope, will guide the supermarkets in how they deal with producers in a fair and reasonable manner.
Whilst it is not my role to set supermarket prices for agricultural products, I very much encourage greater co-operation and discussion between all parties in order to ensure the viability of the largest number of Irish growers possible.
40. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is evidence of beef farmers switching to dairy production in significant numbers and if this presents a concern for the beef industry. [43013/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraDuring the period 2009 to 2013, my Department operated the New Entrants to Dairying Scheme, where up to 200,000 litres of milk quota were awarded to farmers wishing to commence dairying and who were successful in the competitive assessment process. Just over 400 farmers received quota allocations in that period. An analysis of successful applicants for the period 2009 to 2011, involving 230 applicants, indicated 58% were involved in beef production of some description at the time of application and that a further 25% were involved in mixed farming which would include some beef as well. There is nothing to suggest that this trend was not followed in the remaining two years of the Scheme. It is of course a common feature in Irish agriculture for dairy farmers to have a beef enterprise as part of their farm as quota constraints limited the size of their dairy output. The abolition of quotas may see these farmers divest themselves of the beef cattle in order to use their available land for dairy production and maximise their output.
With the advent of a milk quota free environment from 2015, there will be more opportunities for farmers in other sectors, including the beef sector, to consider whether dairy production is a viable alternative for their enterprises. I expect that some farmers in the beef sector will make that switch though in the context of the numbers in each sector, I believe that the number converting will be relatively modest. In this context, constraints on land and the capital investment required to move to the dairy sector will remain as barriers
I am confident that the beef sector will continue to strengthen its position as one of the biggest net exporters in the world. Indeed, the expansion in the dairy sector will also provide new opportunities for the beef sector, both at producer and processor level, in terms of adding value to the increased progeny of these dairy cows or rearing replacements on a contract or partnership basis.
I have made it clear on a number of occasions the priority I attach to the suckler sector and this is the reason I have €74m in 2015, for schemes specifically directed to suckler farmers. This year alone I allocated €33m in funding towards beef data genomics scheme, which are among the first of their kind in the world for the beef sector. I am also proposing a new six-year scheme starting in 2015 under the Rural Development Plan which will build on and further develop this genomics concept. This scheme, which is currently under discussion with the European Commission, will have a budget of approximately €300m over the life of the programme and will revolutionise the breeding strategies employed by suckler farmers and deliver a genetic gain which help to improve environmental sustainability and drive farm profitability. This funding allocation is a vote of confidence by this Government in the sector and its role at the heart of the Irish agri-food development story.
