Thursday, 21 Jan 2016

Written Answers Nos. 75-81

Land Issues

Ceisteanna (75)

Dara Calleary

Ceist:

75. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the support for farmers renting land and entitlement and the available back-up when these are sold out. [2621/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Increasing the mobility and the productive use of land was identified as a key policy objective in the Agri-Taxation Review, which was published as part of Budget 2015. While there is an active land rental market, the majority of these cases are for short-term ‘conacre’ lettings. Long-term leasing has a number of advantages over the conacre system and the Finance Act 2014 introduced measures to assist in rebalancing the market by enhancing the existing tax relief for income from long-term leasing, as follows:

- Increasing the income thresholds for relief from leasing income by 50%

- Introducing a fourth threshold for lease periods of 15 or more years

- Removing the lower age threshold of 40 years of age for eligibility

- Allowing non-connected limited companies as an eligible lessee.

EU Regulations governing the new Basic Payment Scheme provide for the transfer of entitlements by means of:

- Transfer by Sale of Entitlements

- Transfer by Gift

- Transfer by Inheritance

- Transfer by Lease/Rental agreement

- Transfer by Scission

- Transfer by Merger

- Transfer by Change of Legal Status

- Transfer by administrative change to the registration details on the herd number.

The market for entitlements by lease is an open market based on supply and demand and the Department is not involved. Since 2005, eligible lease income can include income from land and direct payment entitlements.

From 2016 onwards Basic Payment Scheme entitlements may be leased with or without land (although no tax relief is available where entitlements are leased without land). Entitlements sold without land in 2016 are subject to 50% claw back on the number of entitlements sold. Claw back does not apply to any other method of transfer of entitlements. All entitlements are subject to a two year usage rule whereby entitlements not used for 2 consecutive years are returned to the National Reserve and lost permanently to the farmer. Entitlements in the National Reserve are used primarily for distribution to eligible young farmers and new entrants to farming. Farmers who wish to transfer their entitlements or to have the registration details of the entitlements changed must submit a Transfer of Entitlements application to the Department. The 2016 Transfer of entitlements application form will be available on the Departments website shortly. The closing date for receipt of applications is 16 May 2016.

There has been anecdotal evidence of an increase in long-term leasing but there is no official data as there is a significant time-lag for Revenue information in this regard. In order to gauge the effectiveness of the recent changes, the Department carried out its own survey last summer. This indicated that a significant behavioural shift from renting on a conacre basis to longer-term leasing has occurred with 27% of respondents commencing a new long-term lease in 2015 and almost two-thirds of these indicating that it was the first time they had entered a long-term lease.

Single Payment Scheme Transfers

Ceisteanna (76)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

76. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will make a decision on the transfer of entitlements to a person (details supplied) in County Donegal under the single payment scheme; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2626/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The first person named submitted a 2015 Transfer of Entitlements Allocation Right and Reference Value application to my Department seeking the transfer of allocation rights and values by inheritance. My Department has written to the personal legal representatives of the second person named, the deceased transferor in this case, regarding documents required to further process the application. Once the required documents are received the application can be processed to facilitate payment under the Basic Payment Scheme.

Agriculture Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (77)

Timmy Dooley

Ceist:

77. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will receive a payment under the single payment scheme and the areas of natural constraint scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2628/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

An application under the 2015 Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraint Schemes was received from the person named on 14 April 2015. Processing of the application under both schemes is complete and payments have issued to the nominated bank account of the person named.

Agrifood Sector

Ceisteanna (78)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

78. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which employment will increase throughout the agrifood sector over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2686/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The CSO’s recently published Quarterly National Household Survey (Quarter 3 2015) showed that employment in the agri-food sector overall, and in its component parts, has reached 169,000. Based on this data, this sector represents circa 8.5% of national employment. The CSO figures are based on sample surveys.

Food Wise 2025, the new ten year strategy for the agri-food sector published in July 2015, builds on the successful vision of Food Harvest 2020. It identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow the sector to grow and prosper. Food Wise includes more than 400 specific recommendations, spread across the cross-cutting themes of sustainability, innovation, human capital, market development and competitiveness; as well as specific sectoral recommendations. Food Wise identifies ambitious and challenging growth projections for the industry over the next ten years, including an 85% increase in exports to €19 billion and the creation of 23,000 additional jobs all along the supply chain by 2025.

Fish Landings

Ceisteanna (79, 81)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

79. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the weight and value of the offshore fish catch by Irish trawlers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2687/16]

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

81. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the weight and value of the fish catch by overseas registered fishing vessels off the Irish coast in each of the past two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2689/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 81 together.

In accordance with the Control Regulation EU 1224/2009, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) is the competent authority for the compilation of landing data by Irish vessels. I have passed the request to the SFPA who will respond directly to the Deputy.

The Irish authorities are not responsible for compiling data on landings or the value of landings of fish by non-Irish fishing vessels, except those landing into Irish fishing ports. Landing data is the responsibility of the flag Member State. Landing figures for Member States are publically available on the Eurostat website at the following link.

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/fisheries/data

Fishing Industry

Ceisteanna (80)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

80. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which employment will increase in the fishing sector, including in fish processing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2688/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The seafood sector continues to be a high-growth area of the economy and indeed of our food industry. Last week Bord Bia announced that sales in the seafood sector for 2015 soared to €890m and exports had increased by 4% to €560m, a 77% rise since 2009. Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Bord Bia are working with seafood companies around our coast to grow the sector to €1 billion in the next few years. This will be driven by our seafood processing sector adding value to commodity products, innovating and developing new consumer seafood products, with the assistance of BIM’s Seafood Development Centres in Clonakilty and Killybegs, and winning new markets for Ireland’s top quality seafood.

Last week, I launched the initial tranche of schemes to commence roll-out of Ireland’s new €240 million Seafood Development Operational Programme under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. This new Programme doubles the level of supports for the sustainable development of the seafood sector over the coming years. My Department is working with Bord Iascaigh Mhara to deliver the wider range of supports the Programme facilitates within the coming weeks and months so that the processing, aquaculture and fishing sectors get the support and promotion needed to develop sustainably and support job creation in coastal communities.

Question No. 81 answered with Question No. 79.