Written Answers Nos. 509-529
509. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the timeframe in which he will reimburse persons availing of the cross-border health care directive scheme under the rules of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11789/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive, insured patients are entitled to have costs of cross-border health care service reimbursed if the health care service in question is among the benefits to which they are entitled in their Member State of affiliation. The HSE endeavours to reimburse the cost of treatment incurred or the cost of providing such health care in the State, which ever is the lesser, to the applicant within 30 days of receipt of a claim for reimbursement, in line with Prompt Payment Legislation.
510. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in processing an application by a person (details supplied) for a medical card under the European Union entitlement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11790/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe issue raised by the Deputy is a matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working day, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
511. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health to review the case of a person (details supplied) and increase their carer's hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11818/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
512. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if he is aware of a three-to-one system of replacement in operation for nurses in the Health Service Executive; if he has issued an instruction to the executive to implement a system which sees only one replacement nurse appointed for every three lost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11846/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of Budget 2015, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced that the previous employment control framework, primarily based on a general moratorium on recruitment and promotion, would be replaced by a Pay and Staff Numbers Strategy which would focus on operating within pay allocations.
The HSE are currently working with the Department of Health on the preparation of their 2016 Pay and Numbers Strategy. This has involved the development of ‘bottom up’ workforce plans at hospital and community service level. While these plans are being developed, interim recruitment measures have been put in place by the HSE, which require that pay budgets are complied with.
The HSE has put in place a range of measures which vary according to the budgetary position of the provider. However, these measures do not impact on a hospital’s ability to recruit where funding exists to facilitate that recruitment; for example in the case of replacement posts or where funding has been allocated for particular roles under the HSE service plan. Recruitment can also take place in areas of critical care and emergency services.
513. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if he has lifted the recruitment embargo for nursing staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11847/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraArising from Budget 2015, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced an easing of restrictions on the employment of additional staff. Submission of a Pay and Numbers Strategy, outlining planned staffing levels and pay/pensions expenditure was required to obtain sanction for the lifting of the moratorium and Employment Control Framework arrangements.
The HSE are currently working with my Department on the preparation of their 2016 Pay and Numbers Strategy. This has involved the development of ‘bottom up’ workforce plans at hospital and community service level. While these plans are being developed, interim recruitment measures have been put in place by the HSE, which require that pay budgets are complied with.
These measures do not impact on a hospital’s ability to recruit where funding exists to facilitate that recruitment; for example in the case of replacement posts or where funding has been allocated for particular roles under the HSE service plan. Recruitment can also take place in areas of critical care and emergency services.
There is a real focus by the HSE on recruitment and retention of nurses and midwives. It is recognised that recruitment and retention of both must be prioritised to support service delivery.
The HSE has continuously increased staffing levels since the beginning of 2015. During the 15-month period from January 2015 to March 2016, nursing figures rose by over 1700 WTEs or 5%.
514. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Health the status of an appointment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11870/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she should take the matter up with the consultant and the hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
515. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress he is making on the European Union Council of Ministers decision to allow for the drawing down of state aid by farmers in the dairy and other sectors, given the difficulties facing the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11165/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraGiven the ongoing difficulties faced by farmers in the dairy and other sectors, the Council of Agriculture Ministers agreed a further package of measures in March 2016. Among these was the making available of more flexible state aid support.
This additional flexibility would allow Member States to provide support to farmers up to a maximum amount of €15,000 per farm this year in circumstances where they either:
(i) made a commitment to freeze or reduce production compared to a given reference period, or
(ii) used the funds to bridge a liquidity gap.
Aid would be granted in the form of direct grants, loans or guarantees in the case of freezing/reducing production, and in the form of loans or guarantees in the case of liquidity assistance (remunerated in the form of an interest payment). The latter could also be provided in grant form if accompanied by a commitment to freeze or reduce production.
I do not plan to avail of the option to provide national funding to support the freezing or reduction of milk supply compared to a given reference period. Indeed, Ireland has been to the forefront in expressing its concerns about the linkage between access to new state aid flexibility and the requirement to control supply. On the question of liquidity, my Department is at present commissioning an ex ante appraisal to examine the merits of including a provision for financial instruments in its Rural Development Programme, and is continuing to engage with the banks concerning the provision of flexible finance to farmers.
My Department is also continuing to monitor market developments very closely, and will continue to work with the Commission and with other Member States in developing appropriate responses. Member States now have a suite of measures that have been made available since September 2015, and will respond in accordance with their domestic circumstances. To date Ireland has used the targeted aid package of €27.4m (€13.7m EU and €13.7m national funding) to support producers in the dairy and pigmeat sectors, and has pushed for appropriate changes in the operation of market support measures such as aids to private storage.
516. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applicants waiting for payment, the maximum period they are waiting, under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme 2, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11166/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraA total of 5,205 applications have been received in the first two tranches of the TAMS II Schemes. The first tranche across the Schemes closed on dates between 25 September and 30 November 2015 and the Second tranche closed on 25 March 2016 for all schemes.
|
Scheme |
Tranche 1 |
Tranche 2 |
|
Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme |
513 |
620 |
|
Dairy Equipment Scheme |
1088 |
595 |
|
Pigs and Poultry Investment Scheme |
57 |
38 |
|
Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment |
194 |
263 |
|
Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage |
939 |
607 |
|
Organic Capital Investments |
192 |
99 |
|
Total |
2,983 |
2,222 |
All applications received in a given tranche have to be examined and then ranked and selected before any approvals are issued for specific schemes in given tranches. Part approvals have issued for over 1,000 applicants in respect of Dairy Equipment and LESS and it is expected that the full approval for these applicants and all other eligible applicants in Tranche 1 will issue in the next weeks. The administrative checks are ongoing in relation to applications received in Tranche 2. The IT development work on the payment claims system is ongoing and when finalised applicants may submit their claims online. The data requested by the Deputy is therefore not yet available.
517. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the level of engagement his Department has had with representatives of farming organisations and the European Union Commission in respect of superlevy repayments and to the ongoing financial issues facing dairy farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11170/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am fully aware of the pressures on dairy farmers right now and I am committed to working with all players in the sector here to address these issues and ensure that we continue to have a sustainable dairy sector going forward.
Dealing with price volatility is a major challenge for the sector. The Single Farm Payment provides some measure of income stability, and EU market support measures will have a role to play. These measures are not enough on their own, however. The sector needs to look at measures to reduce costs on farms, and at the development of new tools, including fixed price contracts, futures markets and more flexible financing arrangements for farmers. I expect all of the stakeholders in the sector, including processors and banks, to play an active role in the development of such instruments.
As one of the proposers of the Dairy Forum my goal is to ensure that it continues to provide constructively in terms of relevant issues of concern to farmers and others in the sector. Recent meetings of the dairy forum and its subgroup have had as their aim proactive engagement in the sector with respect to cash flow issues for producers. In this respect, the Forum has come forward with some good initiatives for farmers already, including an initiative on improving cashflow planning at farm level, which will be rolled out shortly.
The price of milk and dairy commodities is determined by a range of factors, including supply and demand at international level. Food commodity markets including dairy markets have been characterised by significant levels of volatility for a number of years and this trend has continued throughout 2015 and into 2016. Factors contributing to this global price volatility include the Russian Ban and the softening of Chinese demand on one side, coupled with increased production among key global producers, including the EU on the supply side. The longer term demographic and demand perspectives remain positive, but there is no doubt that 2016 will continue to be a challenging year.
As the Deputy may be aware, a facility to phase the final superlevy payment over three years was introduced by the EU Commission last year at Ireland’s request. Farmers availing of the facility must pay at least one third of the bill in each of the first two years (2015 and 2016) with the balance to be paid in 2017. The Department implemented the scheme nationally and 3,741 farmers (out of a total of 6,109 farmers who incurred the levy) deferred repayments of €35.6m in superlevy liability, (out of a total national levy liability of €71.2m).
The mechanism required the Exchequer to pay the superlevy liability to the EU in full in 2015, and to recover the levy from farmers over the three years from 2015 to 2017. A wide process of consultation in the design of the scheme was undertaken with farm organisations and co-ops and it was agreed that once the initial farmer instalment was paid in 2015, the optimum repayment model for the balancing payments would involve ten equal instalments from the months of May-September in 2016 and 2017.
These amounts will be deducted by co-ops from a farmer’s monthly milk cheques to coincide with the peak milk supply months of April to August. The co-ops will then forward the money each month to the Department. This approach was also agreed as part of the sanction given by the Minister for Public Expenditure Reform.
As part of the discussions in the run-up to the March Council of Agriculture Ministers, Ireland proposed a further deferral of the payment to 2017 and 2018, to ease the financial burden on liable farmers in 2016. However the European Commission advised that the legal basis for the Regulations under-pinning the scheme are no longer in existence and therefore further amendments were not possible. While Ireland suggested a possible alternative legal approach, it was clear that the proposal enjoyed very little support from other Member States and was therefore unlikely to succeed.
On that basis the focus turned to other measures in the package which can be of assistance to Irish dairy farmers to help them through current difficulties, including the doubling of intervention fixed price buying-in thresholds. I did however raise the matter with Commissioner Phil Hogan, in our recent bilateral meeting, as well as at last week’s Council of Ministers meeting and encouraged him to reflect again on whether a legal basis could be found to facilitate a further deferral in superlevy repayments for farmers.
518. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why he has yet to complete an application under the natural reserve, the young farmers and the areas of natural constraint schemes and issue payment to a person (details supplied); if he will progress the application as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11173/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application under the 2015 Basic Payment and Areas of Natural Constraints Schemes was received from the person named on 29 May 2015. A number of the parcels declared were commonage land. A number of queries arose during the standard administrative verification checks carried out on all applications by my Department. As part of on-going correspondence additional documentation was recently received and is currently being examined.
An official from my Department will be in direct contact with the person named to clarify the position.
The person named submitted two Private Contract Clause applications to my Department seeking the transfer of land and entitlements as transferee. An outstanding issue in one of the Private Contract Clauses has prevented these applications from being processed. The person named has been in contact with my Department had has given an undertaking to resolve the outstanding issue. These applications can now be processed to facilitate payment under the Basic Payment Scheme.
The person named also submitted applications to my Department under the National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme. Once the Private Contract Clause applications have been fully processed, the applications under the National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme can be finalised with a view to payment shortly thereafter.
519. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an application by a person (details supplied) for a herd number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11187/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe herd number for the person in question was reactivated on 12 May 2016 and a letter issued to the applicant to this effect on that date.
520. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the basic payment scheme 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11199/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named submitted an application for allocation of entitlements under the ‘Scottish Derogation’ measure of the Basic Payment Scheme on 25 May 2015.
Under EU Regulations governing the Basic Payment scheme, processing of applications involves administrative and on farm checks and verification of land details submitted.
The person named received a letter from my Department on 13 November 2015 informing him that his application was not eligible as he did not submit verifiable evidence of farm production on the 15th May 2013 which is a requirement for qualification under ‘Scottish Derogation’.
My Department has received an appeal regarding this decision from the person named. This appeal is currently being considered by my Department based on the information set out by the applicant and a decision with regard to the outcome of the appeal will be notified in writing to him in the coming days.
521. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will issue a payment to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11240/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named commenced their AEOS contract on 1 May 2015. Payments have issued in respect of the 2013-2015 Scheme years. Payments are issued on a yearly basis following a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System. These checks take place in the last quarter of each year, and the 2016 scheme payment will be processed once these checks are finalised.
522. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why he declined payment to a person (details supplied) under the 2014 beef data genomics programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11247/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named registered six animals under the 2014 Beef Data Programme. Payment was made in respect of three animals. Payment was not made for the remaining three animals for the following reasons:
- One dam produced a set of twins and in the case of twin animals the premium is only paid on one of the twins.
- Two calves were sold within the required 5 month retention period and were deemed ineligible. (Calves must be kept for a minimum of 5 months on the holding).
The person named appealed the non-payment of one animal in January 2016. In this letter he stated that the dam was very wild and so he had to sell both the dam and the associated calf. The case was reviewed by my Department and the appeal in question was rejected. The person named was notified of the position in a letter in January 2016. The person named appealed this decision to the Agriculture Appeals Office. The Agriculture Appeals Office reviewed the case in March 2016 and upheld the initial decision.
523. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will issue payment to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11257/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named submitted an application under the 2015 Young Farmers Scheme to my Department. Officials from my Department have been in direct contact with the person named in relation to outstanding documentation required to finalise the processing of this application. Once the relevant documents have been received the application will be finalised, with a view to payment issuing as soon as possible thereafter.
524. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is a mechanism within his Department to request a second review following a farm inspection and subsequent reduction in payment which was upheld in the original review, before proceeding to the appeal process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11289/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has a clearly defined review process in place for applicants who are inspected. If an applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome of an eligibility or a cross compliance inspection they may, following receipt of the interim notification (IN letter), submit any additional information in writing to the local District Superintendent. The final inspection findings are then outlined in a final notification (FN) letter. The applicant may then seek a review of the decision to the District Inspector for their region. This process and the relevant contact details are outlined in the FN letters that issue to applicants.
If an applicant wishes to seek a review of the results of a remote sensing inspection they can submit a review request to Remote Sensing Inspections Section. Again this detail will be provided to the applicant in the letter issued outlining the outcome of the inspection.
In the event that the applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome of a review, the decision can be appealed to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office, within 3 months of the date of review decision letter.
If the applicant feels that their case has been dealt with unfairly by the Agriculture Appeals Office they can raise the matter with the Office of the Ombudsman, 18 Lower Leeson St., Dublin 2.
525. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress which has been made to grant live cattle exporters access to the Turkish market; if the requisite health certificate to facilitate accession is now in place; if he is aware of the negative impact which any delays in opening the market will have on exporters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11309/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraA Turkish delegation visited Ireland earlier this month to discuss certification and a number of issues associated with live cattle exports. In the course of their visit they met with officials of my Department and visited the Central Veterinary Laboratory, farms and cattle assembly centres. The Turkish delegation indicated that they would be submitting a report to their authorities. A decision is now awaited. I am hopeful of a favourable outcome to this process.
526. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to tackle the falling milk prices, as they have been continuously falling for 24 months and have now reached around 24c per litre which is below production cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11313/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra527. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consult with Minister for Finance and the wider Government with a view to establishing Exchequer funded interest-free short-term loans to be used for facilitating a repayment suspension for the super levy and to provide farmers with merchant credit debt, an opportunity to transform it into interest free short term debt, in light of exceptional poor farm incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11314/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 526 and 527 together.
I am fully aware of the pressures on dairy farmers right now. I’m committed to working with all players in the sector here to address these issues and ensure that we have a sustainable dairy sector going forward. As one of the proposers of the Dairy Forum my goal is to ensure that it continues to provide constructively in terms of relevant issues of concern to farmers and others in the sector. The Forum has come forward with some good initiatives for farmers already, including an initiative on improving cashflow planning at farm level, which will be rolled out shortly.
The price of milk and dairy commodities is determined by a range of factors, including supply and demand at international level. Food commodity markets including dairy markets have been characterised by significant levels of volatility for a number of years and this trend has continued throughout 2015 and into 2016. Factors contributing to this global price volatility include the Russian Ban and the softening of Chinese demand on one side, coupled with increased production among key global producers, including the EU on the supply side. The longer term demographic and demand perspectives remain positive, but there is no doubt that 2016 will continue to be a challenging year.
Dealing with price volatility is a major challenge for the sector. The Single Farm Payment provides some measure of income stability, and EU market support measures will have a role to play. These measures are not enough on their own, however. The sector needs to look at measures to reduce costs on farms, and at the development of new tools, including fixed price contracts, futures markets and more flexible financing arrangements for farmers. I expect all the stakeholders in the sector, including processors and banks, to play an active role in the development of such instruments.
I very much welcome the EU Presidency conclusions on a package of support measures to address challenges in the dairy and pigmeat sectors agreed in Brussels at Council in March. This follows on from an earlier package of measures agreed in September of last year and takes account of the ongoing difficulties in the sector. The package includes a number of proposals by Ireland to the Commission in advance of Council, in particular the doubling of the intervention ceiling for skimmed milk powder and butter.
In terms of input costs at farm level, Ireland has called on the Commission to consider temporarily suspending EU import tariffs on fertilisers. I understand that the Commission is examining this request at present. At national level, I will continue to support the work of Teagasc, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation and Animal Health Ireland to increase on farm efficiency and reduce input costs. The EU Presidency conclusions also refer to the possibility of advance payments under CAP, as was done in 2015. In addition my Department recently paid €26.4m in direct aid to dairy farmers, co-funded by the exchequer and the EU, to assist with liquidity and cash-flow issues on dairy farms.
I also welcome the proposal for the European Investment Bank (EIB) and member states to work together with the Commission on the feasibility of an EU export credit tool. My Department will continue to engage with the Irish banking system to ensure there is a full appreciation of the temporary impact of downward price volatility on farm enterprises which are financially sound in the medium term.
The facility to phase the final superlevy payment over three years was introduced by the EU Commission last year at Ireland’s request. Farmers availing of the facility must pay at least one third of the bill in each of the first two years (2015 and 2016) with the balance to be paid in 2017. The Department implemented the scheme nationally and 3,741 farmers (out of a total of 6,109 farmers who incurred the levy) deferred repayments of €35.6m in superlevy liability, (out of a total national levy liability of €71.2m).
The mechanism required the Exchequer to pay the superlevy liability to the EU in full in 2015, and to recover the levy from farmers over the three years from 2015 to 2017. A wide process of consultation in the design of the scheme was undertaken with farm organisations and co-ops and it was agreed that once the initial farmer instalment was paid in 2015, the optimum repayment model for the balancing payments would involve ten equal instalments from the months of May-September in 2016 and 2017.
These amounts will be deducted by co-ops from a farmer’s monthly milk cheques to coincide with the peak milk supply months of April to August. The co-ops will then forward the money each month to the Department. This approach was also agreed as part of the sanction given by the Minister for Public Expenditure Reform.
As part of the discussions in the run-up to the March Council of Agriculture Ministers, Ireland proposed a further deferral of the payment to 2017 and 2018, to ease the financial burden on liable farmers in 2016. However, the European Commission advised that the legal basis for the Regulations under-pinning the scheme are no longer in existence and therefore further amendments were not possible. While Ireland suggested a possible alternative legal approach, it was clear that the proposal enjoyed very little support from other Member States and was therefore unlikely to succeed.
On that basis the focus turned to other measures in the package which can be of assistance to Irish dairy farmers to help them through current difficulties, including the doubling of intervention fixed price buying-in thresholds. I did however raise the matter with Commissioner Phil Hogan, in our recent bilateral meeting, as well as at last week’s Council of Ministers meeting and encouraged him to reflect again on whether a legal basis could be found to facilitate a further deferral in superlevy repayments for farmers.
528. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when details of a milking parlour grant payment process will be provided to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11325/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraPart approval was issued to the applicant in December for urgently required milking equipment.
The full approval letter with details of how to apply for the grant payment will issue in a matter of weeks.
Grant payments will issue in the second half of the year.
529. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will initiate a scheme of state aid funded loan relief as authorised by the European Union for dairy farmers suffering from cashflow problems as a result of superlevy and other obligations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11345/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the ongoing market difficulties in the dairy, pigmeat, and fruit and vegetables sectors, the Council of Agriculture Ministers agreed a further package of measures was agreed in March 2016. Among these was the making available of more flexible state aid support.
It will now be possible for farmers (SMEs) to access temporary finance up to a maximum amount of €15,000 per farm per year in circumstances where they either:
(i) make a commitment to freeze or reduce production compared to a given reference period, or
(ii) use the funds to bridge a liquidity gap.
Aid as provisionally envisaged would be granted in the form of direct grants, loans or guarantees in the case of freezing/reducing production, and in the form of loans or guarantees in the case of liquidity assistance (remunerated in the form of an interest payment). Interaction and discussion with the Commission is ongoing in respect of finalising the details of such provisions.
The Department is continuing to monitor market developments very closely, and will continue to work with the Commission and with other Member States in developing appropriate responses.
Member States now have a suite of measures that have been made available since September 2015, and will respond in accordance with their domestic circumstances. To date Ireland has used the targeted aid package of €27.4m (€13.7m EU and €13.7m national funding) to support producers in the dairy and pigmeat sectors, and has pushed for appropriate changes in the operation of market support measures such as aids to private storage.
There are no plans to avail of the option to provide national funding to freeze or reduce milk supply compared to a given reference period. On the question of liquidity, the Department is at present commissioning an ex ante appraisal to examine the merits of including a provision for financial instruments in its Rural Development Programme, and is continuing to engage with banks and with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland on the provision of flexible finance to farmers.
As the Deputy may be aware, a facility to phase the final superlevy payment over three years was introduced by the EU Commission last year at Ireland’s request. Farmers availing of the facility must pay at least one third of the bill in each of the first two years (2015 and 2016) with the balance to be paid in 2017. The Department implemented the scheme nationally and 3,741 farmers (out of a total of 6,109 farmers who incurred the levy) deferred repayments of €35.6m in superlevy liability, (out of a total national levy liability of €71.2m).
The mechanism required the Exchequer to pay the superlevy liability to the EU in full in 2015, and to recover the levy from farmers over the three years from 2015 to 2017. A wide process of consultation in the design of the scheme was undertaken with farm organisations and co-ops and it was agreed that once the initial farmer instalment was paid in 2015, the optimum repayment model for the balancing payments would involve ten equal instalments from the months of May-September in 2016 and 2017.
These amounts will be deducted by co-ops from a farmer’s monthly milk cheques to coincide with the peak milk supply months of April to August. The co-ops will then forward the money each month to the Department. This approach was also agreed as part of the sanction given by the Minister for Public Expenditure Reform.
As part of the discussions in the run-up to the March Council of Agriculture Ministers, Ireland proposed a further deferral of the payment to 2017 and 2018, to ease the financial burden on liable farmers in 2016. However the European Commission advised that the legal basis for the Regulations under-pinning the scheme are no longer in existence and therefore further amendments were not possible. While Ireland suggested a possible alternative legal approach, it was clear that the proposal enjoyed very little support from other Member States and was therefore unlikely to succeed.
On that basis the focus turned to other measures in the package which can be of assistance to Irish dairy farmers to help them through current difficulties, including the doubling of intervention fixed price buying-in thresholds. I did however raise the matter with Commissioner Phil Hogan, in our recent bilateral meeting, as well as at yesterday’s Council of Ministers meeting and encouraged him to reflect again on whether a legal basis could be found to facilitate a further deferral in superlevy repayments for farmers.
