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Thursday, 29 Sep 2016

Written Answers Nos 247-258

TAMS Applications

Ceisteanna (247)

Pat Breen

Ceist:

247. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when an application will be processed for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27971/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The applicant named has applied for investment items in both Tranches 3 and 4 of the Dairy Equipment Scheme of TAMS II.  The applications are going through the administrative checks and if the applications are in order they go through the Ranking and Selection Process. Tranche 4 will close on the 30th of September and all applications received in that Tranche will be examined before the Ranking and Selection process takes place. The Ranking and Selection process for all applications received in the earlier Tranche 3 will be undertaken in the near future.

Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (248)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

248. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue to a person (details supplied) under the ANC scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27972/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The person named submitted a 2016 Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme application on 14 May 2016.  Processing of the application identified that the holding of the person named has not as yet met the stocking requirements as per the Terms and Conditions of the scheme.  On completion of this requirement, the application will be further reviewed with a view to payment issuing directly to the nominated bank account of the person named at the earliest possible date.

Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (249)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

249. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue to a person under the ANC scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27973/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

An application under the 2016 Basic Payment-Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme was received in my Department from the person named on 14 May 2016.  During processing of the application, an overlap was disclosed in respect of one land parcel declared. In addition, the application did not include a map for other lands declared. My Department has written to the person named on both these matters. As soon as replies are received, the application will be further processed.  

Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (250)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

250. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue to a person under the ANC scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27974/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

In order for the person named to be considered for payment under the 2016 Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme, they must in the first instance have submitted a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)/ANC application from prior to the closing date of the 16 May 2016. Analysis of department records can confirm no record of this application being received by my Department.

Beef Data and Genomics Programme

Ceisteanna (251)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

251. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers who have submitted samples by herd size in intervals of ten, that is, zero to ten, 11 to 20, and so on, by county, under the beef data genomics scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28038/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The information requested is not yet available but is currently being compiled. It will be forwarded to the Deputy directly as soon as it is finalised.

Beef Data and Genomics Programme

Ceisteanna (252)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

252. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers participating in the beef data genomics scheme that have completed a beef carbon navigator, on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28039/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

A total of 11,520 applicants have completed their carbon navigator under the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) as set out in the following table. The closing date for completion of this element of the BDGP is 31 October. All participating farmers have been reminded of the requirement to complete the carbon navigator by the end of the October on a number of occasions including recently by both letter and text (where they have subscribed for text messages).

County

No.

Carlow

184

Cavan

546

Clare

738

Cork

987

Donegal

769

Dublin

37

Galway

1356

Kerry

493

Kildare

106

Kilkenny

234

Laois

281

Leitrim

378

Limerick

320

Longford

353

Louth

115

Mayo

1340

Meath

166

Monaghan

428

Offaly

255

Roscommon

777

Sligo

395

Tipperary

415

Waterford

118

Westmeath

273

Wexford

327

Wicklow

129

TOTAL

11520

GLAS Data

Ceisteanna (253)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

253. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers who have been approved for tier 1, 2 and 3 and by county, for GLAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28040/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The following tables set out the number of farmers who have been approved for Tier one, two and three on a county by county basis for GLAS Tranche 1 and GLAS Tranche 2:

GLAS 1

County

Tier   1

Tier   2

Tier   3

Total

Carlow

160

85

39

284

Cavan

198

438

282

918

Clare

724

186

721

1631

Cork

1102

297

836

2235

Donegal

1076

245

660

1981

Dublin

25

21

19

65

Galway

1472

884

793

3149

Kerry

1182

162

451

1795

Kildare

93

93

70

256

Kilkenny

145

113

189

447

Laois

150

137

89

376

Leitrim

306

284

446

1036

Limerick

453

194

419

1066

Longford

78

235

206

519

Louth

72

35

44

151

Mayo

1398

366

847

2611

Meath

93

202

151

446

Monaghan

67

229

292

588

Offaly

100

188

197

485

Roscommon

334

752

465

1551

Sligo

335

131

492

958

Tipperary

439

178

546

1163

Waterford

172

40

155

367

Westmeath

95

332

232

659

Wexford

339

250

212

801

Wicklow

152

111

74

337

GLAS 2

County

Tier   1

Tier   2

Tier   3

Total

Carlow

74

57

0

131

Cavan

154

283

10

448

Clare

450

236

10

696

Cork

765

269

28

1062

Donegal

843

165

11

1019

Dublin

6

11

0

17

Galway

864

452

26

1342

Kerry

767

114

7

888

Kildare

45

39

1

85

Kilkenny

112

96

7

215

Laois

95

104

5

204

Leitrim

226

176

21

423

Limerick

175

119

17

311

Longford

87

267

5

359

Louth

50

32

0

82

Mayo

1057

288

16

1361

Meath

59

151

0

210

Monaghan

28

120

4

152

Offaly

154

130

1

285

Roscommon

239

305

15

559

Sligo

249

113

9

371

Tipperary

314

207

11

532

Waterford

83

51

2

136

Westmeath

91

185

1

277

Wexford

141

117

11

269

Wicklow

104

51

3

158

National Broadband Plan Expenditure

Ceisteanna (254, 255, 256)

Bríd Smith

Ceist:

254. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the estimated yearly cost of the proposed 25-year contract for the NBP under the current proposed model. [27866/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Bríd Smith

Ceist:

255. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the estimated costs of alternative proposals around alternative models for unrolling the NBP or any such information his Department may have on such costs. [27867/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Bríd Smith

Ceist:

256. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the estimated savings his Department views the chosen funding model will deliver over the 25 years of any contract for the NBP. [27868/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 254 to 256, inclusive, together.

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) represents a very significant capital investment project for the State and  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. 

On 5 July, the Government selected the Commercial Stimulus Model as the optimum ownership model for the network that will be part funded by the Exchequer.  The Department has completed detailed costings, down to every individual premise in the Intervention Area and, on that basis, has modelled the likely cost of various technologies and ownership models. It would not be appropriate to publish the expected cost of building the network or the likely cost to the State while a major public procurement process is underway . I do not intend therefore to indicate the overall estimated Exchequer funding parameters. Ultimately, the costs will depend on the price that bidder(s) quote in the tender process.

On 29 September 2015, the Government's 6 year Capital Plan, Building on Recovery, was published. It includes an allocation of €275m for the National Broadband Plan (NBP). This allocation provides the initial stimulus required to deliver the Government's intervention and it is expected that further funding will be available over the lifetime of any contract(s). Funding of €75m is committed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The Department commenced the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) phase of the procurement process in July and is engaged in the formal dialogue process with the three qualifying bidders. Following the conclusion of the Dialogue Phase and an invitation to bidders to submit detailed draft proposals, 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 timing of each stage of the procurement is dependent on a number of factors including the number of qualified bidders and the complexities that may be encountered during the procurement process. It must be noted that bidders will need adequate time to prepare detailed proposals and their final formal bids and get the relevant shareholder and funding approvals at these stages of the process.

In preparation for the procurement stage of the process my Department investigated how different technical solutions could be used to deliver high speed broadband. In line with EU State Aid rules, the process must be "technology neutral" and it is not therefore possible to specify what technology should be used to build the network. As part of the procurement process bidders will be asked to propose solutions which meet the NBP service requirements. It is recognised however, that a significant fibre build will be required, regardless of what technology is used to provide services to individual premises. Once the successful bidder or bidders is chosen the technology(ies) to be deployed will become clear.

As part of the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated that it could take 3-5 years to roll out a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP . It is however open to bidder(s) to suggest more aggressive timescales as part of their bids. 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.

The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the roll-out of the network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.

In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and relevant other 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.

In line with commitments in the Programme for Government I  established a Mobile Phone and Broadband Task Force with my colleague Minister Humphreys in July 2016. The Task force will recommend practical actions that can be taken in the short-term to improve mobile phone and broadband access in Ireland, working with Government Departments, Local Authorities, ComReg, State Agencies, the telecoms industry and other key stakeholders. The work of the task force will also assist Local Authorities in preparing for the roll-out of the new NBP network once contract(s) are in place. I expect that Minister Humphreys and I will bring proposals to Government by the end of 2016, on foot of the Task force's report.

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Ceisteanna (257)

Robert Troy

Ceist:

257. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the work completed to date regarding the roll-out of broadband nationally; and the definite timeline and remainder stages until the project is fully completed. [27910/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for 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:

- 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.  Premises within this area will get services of at least 30mbps when the procurement process is completed and the network rolled out.

The map provides information on a county by county basis with a breakdown of coverage across the townlands in every county. Individuals can check whether their premises is in a BLUE or an AMBER area by scrolling through the map online or entering their Eircode. 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.  

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, I announced that my Department has also identified that up to an additional 170,000 premises which are currently market BLUE on the High Speed Broadband Map are unlikely to get access to services. My Department is conducting further analysis to identify these additional premises with a view to including them in the formal procurement process. This work will conclude in the coming months and will be reflected in a further update to the High Speed Broadband Map.

The Department commenced the Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) phase of the procurement process in July and is  engaged in the formal dialogue process with the three qualifying bidders. Following the conclusion of the Dialogue Phase and an invitation to bidders to submit detailed draft proposals, 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 timing of each stage of the procurement is dependent on a number of factors including the number of qualified bidders and the complexities that may be encountered during the procurement process. It must be noted that bidders will need adequate time to prepare detailed proposals and their final formal bids and get the relevant shareholder and funding approvals at these stages of the process.

In preparation for the procurement stage of the process my Department investigated how different technical solutions could be used to deliver high speed broadband. In line with EU State Aid rules, the process must be "technology neutral" and it is not therefore possible to specify what technology should be used to build the network. As part of the procurement process bidders will be asked to propose solutions which meet the NBP service requirements. It is recognised however, that a significant fibre build will be required, regardless of what technology is used to provide services to individual premises. Once the successful bidder or bidders is chosen the technology(ies) to be deployed will become clear.

As part of the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated that it could take 3-5 years to roll out a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP. It is however open to bidder(s) to suggest more aggressive timescales as part of their bids. 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.

The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the roll-out of the network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.

In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and relevant other 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.

In line with commitments in the Programme for Government I established a Mobile Phone and Broadband Task Force with my colleague Minister Humphreys in July 2016. The Task force will recommend practical actions that can be taken in the short-term to improve mobile phone and broadband access in Ireland, working with Government Departments, Local Authorities, ComReg, State Agencies, the telecoms industry and other key stakeholders. The work of the task force will also assist Local Authorities in preparing for the roll-out of the new NBP network once contract(s) are in place. I expect that Minister Humphreys and I will bring proposals to the Government by the end of 2016, on foot of the Task force's report.

Environmental Protection Agency Governance

Ceisteanna (258)

Alan Kelly

Ceist:

258. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason he has not yet appointed a new advisory committee to the Environmental Protection Agency; when he intends to appoint the committee; if he is aware of the many concerns regarding the absence of a new committee being appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27932/16]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Sections 27 and 28 of the Environmental Protection Act 1992, as amended, provide for the establishment of an Advisory Committee to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is chaired by the Director General of the EPA and includes eleven other members.  The Advisory Committee has a range of advisory functions under the EPA Act, including making recommendations to the EPA, or the Minister, relating to the Agency's functions. Following the merger of the ‘The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland’ with ‘The Environmental Protection Agency’ in August 2014, amendments were made to the sections 27 and 28 of the EPA Act, 1992 governing the Advisory Committee, to also provide specifically for radiological protection expertise.

The term of office of the 6th EPA Advisory Committee expired on 26 February 2016. Nominations for the 7th Advisory Committee were invited from the five nominating panels, as per the Environmental Protection Agency (Advisory Committee) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No 613 of 2015).

In accordance with Section 27 (6)(a) of the EPA Act, the Minister is required to appoint 7 members in total from the five nominating panels, with at least one member from each panel. The Minister is also required to select the remaining four members of the Committee, and in so doing to comply with Government policy on gender balance, so at least 4 of the 11 members should be female.

As specified in Section 27 (5) of the EPA Act valid nominations were received under each of the five nominating panels who represent the following interests: organisations representative of persons whose professions and occupations relate to environmental protection or radiological protection; organisations concerned with environmental protection or radiological protection; organisations concerned with the promotion of economic or other development; organisations concerned with the promotion of, in relation to community, of social, economic or general interests; organisations which in his opinion are representative of persons concerned with education or research relating to environmental matters or radiological protection.

Separate to the statutory call to the prescribed bodies for nominees, a notice was also placed on the Department’s website requesting expressions of interest from members of the public interested in being considered for appointment to the Advisory Committee.

These applications have been collated and work is ongoing in my Department to finalise the selection process. I expect to be in a position to announce the membership of the Advisory Committee in the near future.

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