Written Answers Nos. 389-404
389. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of technical advisers being recruited by his Department; the number of applications received; the step-by-step process towards selection; the expected timeframe for completion of the current round of recruitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23163/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department does not recruit technical advisors. Advisory services for farmers are provided in the main by Teagasc.
My Department is recruiting for Technical Agricultural Officers. The post of Technical Agricultural Officer was advertised on 15 April 2016 and is being administered by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Department. Approximately 900 applications were received.
All applicants were invited to participate in stage 1 of the competition which consisted of remote online psychometric tests and took place during the week of 15-22 June. The first 150 candidates who were successful at stage 1 have been invited to attend the offices of the Public Appointments Service on 25-26 July for supervised verification tests. On the basis of the results of these tests, candidates will be invited to attend for interviews which are scheduled for August. Further batches of candidates may be called later.
Successful candidates will be placed on a panel from which my Department will recruit individuals to meet critical business needs.
390. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person (details supplied) were to set out their land and associated entitlements for ten years due to force majeure circumstances, would the entitlements revert to their children when same come of age and take ownership of the farm in the future; if the passing of entitlements from farmer to children in such circumstances will be safeguarded with impending Common Agricultural Policy 2020 negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23214/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraEU Regulations governing the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 to 2019 provide for various methods of transfer of entitlements including long term leasing. The Regulations also provide for the application of Force Majeure under certain circumstances.
The provisions of the current CAP reform are due to expire in December 2019. It is not possible to predict any issues relating to CAP Reform post 2019.
391. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will review the entitlements of a person (details supplied) under the basic payment scheme allocated to same in 2015-16 given that the request has been lodged with his Department for three weeks and is yet to be confirmed as received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23215/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraA request for a review of entitlements for the person named was received by the Department on 27 June, 2016. This case is currently being examined by my Department. This review will be finalised shortly and a letter will issue to the person named outlining the details of his case and the decision reached.
392. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of cases referred to the Agriculture Appeals Office in the period 2013 to 2016 to date broken down by respective scheme, per county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23224/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is not possible to provide the detailed information requested by the Deputy in the short timeframe. I will respond to the Deputy directly once the information has been collated.
393. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of farm inspections carried out in 2014, 2015 and to date in 2016, by county, in tabular form. [23225/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe extensive range of data requested by the Deputy is not readily available. However, officials in my Department will compile the data requested and forward it directly to the Deputy at the earliest opportunity.
394. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of 2015 green low-carbon agri-environment scheme applicants that have not passed all of his Department’s pre-payment validation checks for 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23226/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraGLAS Tranche 1 applications with a start-date of 1 October 2015 and which have GLAS actions which are payable in 2015 are eligible for a 2015 part-year payment covering the three month period 1 October-31 December 2015.
Almost 19,000 of the 22,000 GLAS 1 applications due an outstanding 2015 payment, which in the majority represents the 2015 balancing payment, have successfully completed the most recent GLAS pre-payment validation checks for 2015. The outstanding amount due to these applicants will issue shortly. Queries on a further 1,800 cases are being processed. These include cases where there were issues on the applicants' Basic Payment Claim or issues which arose at inspection. The remaining 1,200 applications, which includes cases where the applicant has amended their original application and cases which have had changes to land parcel information, are being reviewed and processed by my Department on a case by case basis. As these issues are resolved applications will be sent for payment on an ongoing basis.
395. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on submitting an amendment to Ireland's rural development programme at European Union level to create financial instruments to utilise the European Investment Bank as a guarantor in order to provide affordable credit to farmers; the approximate timetable to operationalise these financial instruments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23227/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am considering including Financial Instruments (FIs) in Ireland’s 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme (RDP). Financial instruments can take the form of loans, guarantee funds or equity investments and the funding for any such FIs would have to draw on Ireland’s existing RDP allocation of European funding as well as National Exchequer funding. It is also possible to incorporate funding from other sources for such instruments.
In order to include a FI as a measure in the RDP an Ex-Ante Assessment is compulsory under EU regulation. My Department published a request for tender on the 28th of June 2016 for the provision of an Ex-ante Assessment for the use of Financial Instruments (FIs) within Ireland’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Operational Programmes. The deadline for submissions is the 25th of July 2016.
Once the Ex-Ante Assessment is done, an agreement must be reached between my Department and any other potential stakeholders/financial institutions on a clear investment strategy that is developed from the gaps, if any, identified in the Ex-Ante Assessment. Following this, a new measure description would have to be drafted and inserted into the RDP by way of an amendment.
396. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the value of a person’s farm entitlements has been reduced (details supplied). [23271/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Basic Payment Scheme and Greening Payment replaced the Single Payment Scheme at the end of 2014 and a new set of BPS entitlements has been allocated to all eligible applicants under the scheme. The number of BPS entitlements allocated was determined by the number of eligible hectares declared by a farmer in 2013 or 2015, whichever was the lesser, and the value of entitlements allocated was based on a fixed percentage of the value of Single Payment Scheme entitlements owned by the farmer in 2014 and any payment received under the 2014 Grassland Sheep Scheme.
The person named held 11.60 entitlements valued at €183.02 each in 2014 giving him a payment of €2,123 in 2014. These entitlements expired on 31st December 2014 and he was then allocated 11.60 Basic Payment Scheme entitlements based on the eligible land declared in 2015. These entitlements are valued at €120.41 each in 2015. The value of the payment received by the person named in 2015, including his Greening Payment, which totals €2,061.69, shows a marginal reduction on the value of his payment in 2014. This is consistent with the marginal reduction to all farmers’ payments in 2015 based on the reduced national ceiling allocated to Ireland under CAP 2015-2019. The value of the entitlements held by the person named will increase under convergence each year from 2015-2019 as set out in the Definitive Statement of Entitlements issued to the person named in early June 2016.
397. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when or if his Department will utilise section 6(1) of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1939 to confirm a new title for his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23341/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently no plans to change the name of my Department.
398. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which any initiatives are planned to address deficiencies in the telecommunications sector with a view to ensuring that all segments of the sector are up to international standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23089/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra399. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which he expects broadband quality and service to improve on an annual basis over the next four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23090/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra400. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which improvements in quality and speed of broadband is envisaged over the next two years with a particular reference to County Kildare and the need to meet the requirements of customers therein as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23091/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos 398 to 400, inclusive, together.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for a Partnership Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority. This is being achieved through private investment by commercial telecommunications companies and through a State intervention in areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming. The formal procurement process for the State Intervention commenced in December 2015.
The High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie, shows the extent of the State Intervention area, which is the subject of procurement. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have previously indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services. The Department continues to monitor the commercial deployment plans in the BLUE area to ensure that those services are delivered. The areas marked AMBER on the High Speed Broadband Map represent the target areas for the State Intervention. The map provides information on a county by county basis with a breakdown of coverage across the townlands in every county. The Department also has a dedicated mailbox and anyone with a query in relation to the Map should email the Department, quoting their Eircode, to broadband@dcenr.gov.ie.
The county breakdown for the National Broadband Plan Intervention in Kildare is set out in the following table, with the percentage of premises to be covered by the Intervention and through commercial investment also listed:
|
County Name |
Total Number of County Townlands |
Number of Premises Covered by National Broadband Plan Intervention |
% Premises within the NBP Intervention Area |
% Premises within Commercial Operator's Area |
|
Kildare |
1210 |
20,536 |
23% |
77% |
The Government’s NBP intervention will ensure the delivery of high quality, high speed broadband of at least 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload and the network will be designed to cater for future increased demand from consumers and business.
Over 750,000 premises are the focus for the procurement process, which formally commenced in December 2015 with the publication of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire ('PQQ') and Project Information Memorandum. On 5 July 2016, I announced that my Department has also identified a further 170,000 premises which are currently marked BLUE on the High Speed Broadband Map and which are unlikely to get access to services. My Department is currently in the process of identifying these additional premises with a view to including them in the formal procurement process.
The Department has now moved to the next stage in the procurement process. In this Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) phase, the Department will commence the formal dialogue process with three qualifying bidders this week. The qualifying bidders will shortly be furnished with a draft contract, with detailed specifications for a quality and affordable high speed broadband network.
Following the ITPD stage, which will take a number of months, the Department will issue final tender documentation to bidders. When final tenders have been submitted a winning bidder(s) will be selected for the contract which will comprise one or two lots as set out in the NBP Intervention Strategy. The Department will then enter into formal contract negotiations with the winning bidder(s). The current schedule envisages contract(s) awarding in June 2017.
The timing of each stage of the procurement is dependent on a number of factors including the number of bidders short-listed and the complexities that may be encountered during the dialogue process. It must be noted that bidders will need several months to prepare their draft bids and their final formal bids and get the relevant shareholder and funding approvals at these stages of the process.
As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best roll-out strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and / or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network roll-out plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A detailed roll-out plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and other relevant Departments and agencies to assist in the commercial deployment of telecommunications networks. The commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2bn in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband and mobile telecoms services. These investments will further improve the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country.
The Programme for a Partnership Government commits to the establishment of a mobile phone and broadband Taskforce which will consider immediate measures to address telecommunications deficits in rural Ireland. My Department is engaging with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in relation to the terms of reference for the Taskforce to ensure delivery of the Programme for Government commitment.
The Taskforce will involve a number of Government Departments and agencies, as well as engagement with ComReg and telecommunications operators. My Department has already conducted a number of meetings with vendors and mobile operators to help inform the process and identify what tangible measures can be taken. I expect that Minister Humphreys and I will bring proposals to Government by the end of 2016, on foot of the Taskforce's report.
The Programme for a Partnership Government commits also to measures to assist in the roll out of the broadband network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of county or regional broadband taskforces, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices, LEADER Groups and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.
I am confident that through the combination of existing commercial investment and the State intervention, that all our citizens will have the same, if not better, access to high speed broadband services available in other comparable jurisdictions.
401. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the progress to date towards reaching targets arrived at by the previous Administration in respect of renewable energy with a view to meeting Ireland's international commitments within time and target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23092/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 2009 EU Renewable Energy Directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020 and in order to meet this target, Ireland is committed to meeting 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources, 12% renewables in the heating sector and 10% in transport. The Government has adopted a range of support measures designed to meet our binding target, and although good progress towards our target has been made to date, meeting the 16% target remains challenging. Provisional data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) indicates we had reached 9.2% of the overall 16% target at the end of 2015.
In the electricity sector the primary support mechanisms introduced for renewable electricity are the Alternative Energy Requirement (AER) schemes and the Renewable Energy Feed-In-Tariff (REFIT) schemes. These schemes have proved successful at incentivising the development of the renewable electricity generation capacity necessary to meet our 40% renewable electricity target, and the SEAI estimate for 2015 is that 25.3% of electricity demand was met by renewable sources.
In the heating sector, my Department is working on the introduction of a new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to support the deployment of renewable energy in the sector. The primary aim of the RHI is to build on the progress already made in heating and to help reach our 12% target by 2020. In 2015, it is estimated that 6.8% of heat was derived from renewable sources.
In the transport sector, Ireland aims to meet our renewable target mainly through the increased use of sustainable biofuels, with electric vehicles also making a small contribution. In 2015, 5.7% of our energy needs in the transport sector were met from renewable sources.
The Energy White Paper, Ireland's Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future, published in December last, sets out a vision for transforming Ireland's fossil-fuel based energy sector into a clean, low carbon system by 2050, while the Programme for Government also sets out important objectives in the energy sector that build on this vision. The clear focus of my Department is on implementing the range of actions that are aimed at meeting our energy and climate change targets.
402. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the amount collected from the public service obligation levy on energy bills for each of the past five years in tabular form. [23142/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra403. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the way the public service obligation levies collected from energy bills over the past five years have been distributed across solar, wind, wave, fossil and biofuels for each of the past five years in tabular form. [23143/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 402 and 403 together.
The Public Service Obligation (PSO) Levy has been in place since 2001. The PSO levy consists of a set of support schemes designed to facilitate the achievement of national electricity policy objectives for renewables, indigenous fuels and security of supply. It also supports employment in the renewables industry and in the peat industry. The proceeds of the PSO levy are used to contribute to the additional relevant costs incurred by PSO-supported electricity generators which are not recovered in the electricity market. Recent international studies have shown that Ireland has had one of the lowest per unit supports for renewable energy in the European Union.
The overarching objective of the Government’s energy policy is to ensure secure and sustainable supplies of competitively priced energy to all consumers. The PSO has supported the connection of more than 2,000 MW of renewable energy to the electricity grid and will continue to support the development of renewable energy so that the target for 40% renewable electricity penetration by 2020 is met.
My Department is currently working on the development of a new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) and a consultation will issue later this year.
The PSO Levy is a charge on all electricity customers without exception and is determined by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). The legal basis for the PSO levy and its method of calculation by the CER are set out in Regulations made under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (S.I. 217 of 2002). The total amounts spent, and details by category, such as the amounts for peat, renewables and security of supply plant, for each of the past five years, as calculated by the CER, are already available in the public domain. The CER publishes these details in annual PSO Levy Decision papers at www.cer.ie. The latest proposed decision paper for the 2016/2017 period can be found here: http://www.cer.ie/docs/001074/CER16152%20PSO%20Levy%202016-17%20Proposed%20Decision%20Paper.pdf
The following table shows the total amount for the PSO levy for each of the last five years. The second table shows a breakdown of the PSO levy for each of the last five years. All figures are taken directly from the PSO levy Decision Papers available at www.cer.ie.
|
Period |
Total PSO Levy (€) |
|
2015/16 |
325,251,413 |
|
2014/15 |
335,440,176 |
|
2013/14 |
210,928,519 |
|
2012/13 |
131,239,119 |
|
2011/12 |
92,123,677 |
|
Period |
Item |
Total (€) |
|
2015/16 |
Peat |
121.9 million |
|
Security of Supply |
47.3 million |
|
|
Renewables |
180.9 million |
|
|
PSO Cfds |
(-9.3 million) |
|
|
Other Costs |
(-15.5 million) |
|
|
2014/15 |
Peat |
119.0 million |
|
Security of Supply |
104.7 million |
|
|
Renewables |
94.3 million |
|
|
PSO Cfds |
5.6 million |
|
|
Other Costs |
11.6 million |
|
|
2013/14 |
Peat |
74,862,000 |
|
Security of Supply |
48,172,000 |
|
|
Renewables |
43,087,883 |
|
|
Other |
44,806,636 |
|
|
2012/13 |
Peat |
51,941,000 |
|
Security of Supply |
25,453,000 |
|
|
Renewables |
54,584,222 |
|
|
Other |
(-739,103) |
|
|
2011/12 |
Peat |
40,606,464 |
|
Security of Supply |
30,749,464 |
|
|
Renewables |
36,447,444 |
|
|
Other |
(-15,681,695) |
Other costs include the administration costs for all PSO parties, the associated R-Factor for all PSO parties in the previous PSO period, and a small correction for interest relating to the previous PSO levy period. From 2014/15 the CER changed the way data is presented and as such the R-Factor for each category is included in the figure given and figures are given in millions to one decimal place.
404. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the reason a person's personal identification number required to log in to renew a TV licence on tvlicence.ie is not printed on every reminder notice issued to households, despite the website tvlicence.ie stating that it is, necessitating a workaround that is not indicated on the website, namely, that persons seeking to renew their licences who do not remember their PIN should navigate to the first time licence tab and complete that form to generate a new PIN, given that a simple forgot PIN function on the website would save countless hours on hold for persons who have forgotten their PIN and would free up customer service staff for more important tasks. [23248/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with Section 145 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, An Post acts on behalf of my Department as an agent for the collection of the Television Licence fee. The day to day administration of licensing and renewals is a matter for An Post.
I have asked An Post to reply directly to the Deputy in relation to the matter raised.
