Written Answers Nos. 195-204
195. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on the programme for Government commitment to introduce locally led agri-environment schemes which will target habitats such as the hen harrier, the pearl mussel and the Burren, along with other locally led schemes that address specific environmental concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3646/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is currently in the process of introducing important new schemes under the locally-led umbrella, for the conservation of the hen harrier and freshwater pearl mussel. I have provided a total budget of €35 million for these two schemes. Part of this process requires the recruitment, by public tender, of a Project Team to help develop and deliver these schemes on behalf of my Department, following a similar model to the highly successful Burren farming conservation measure. The closing date for the tender was 24 January 2017 and I would expect that the successful tenderer will be offered a contract before the end of February. The successful tenderer will be directly involved in drawing up the terms and conditions for the new schemes, along with the range of actions to be applied and associated payments. This will be done in consultation with officials from my Department and from the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, as well as drawing on local knowledge and inputs from farmers on the ground. Once this stage has been completed, the process of recruiting farmers for a five year scheme will commence.
I have also launched an Open Call under the European Innovation Partnerships Initiative (EIP) inviting applications for funding. The Open Call is a new way of responding to local challenges. It is an opportunity for farmers, researchers, advisors and scientists to look at new and traditional practices, develop ideas and research and promote forms of co-operation in their own areas. Projects developed under this Open Call also form part of my Department's new 'Locally-Led' initiative and I have provided a dedicated budget of €24 million for projects emerging from this process. The closing date for the first of these Calls is 5pm on 27th January 2017 but there will be a second call later this year as well.
Finally, as regards the Burren, my Department has already introduced this scheme which recently processed its second tranche of applications. There are now some 320 farmers in the scheme – more than double the number that have ever participated before. I propose to have a third and final tranche later this year. All participants in this new scheme receive five year contracts, rather than the annual contracts that operated previously and I have set aside €15m to fund the Programme over its lifetime.
196. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the date for the next national tillage forum with stakeholders with a view to introducing a crisis aid fund for tillage farmers who had their crop destroyed or badly damaged by severe weather in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3647/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI know you are aware I hosted a Tillage Stakeholders Forum last October which consisted of representatives from all sides of this Sector. Following a very productive meeting I subsequently initiated a number of responses to address key issues raised by stakeholders.
As I set out at the Forum, one of my chief priorities was to provide low-cost more flexible finance for the industry and in this regard I was happy to announce subsequently, my plans for a €150 million Agri Cash Flow Loan Support Scheme. This has been developed in conjunction with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), and will provide farmers, including tillage farmers, with a low cost, flexible source of working capital, and will allow them to pay down more expensive forms of short-term debt, ensuring on-going financial sustainability of viable farming enterprises.
As an additional support to cash flow on farms, including Tillage farms, I also confirmed that advance payments would be made in 2016 in respect of the Basic Payment and Greening Payment schemes.
Advance payments commenced on the 17 October last, the earliest possible date by which payments can begin under the governing EU Regulations, with the addition of balancing payments from the 1 December. To date €1,171 billion has been paid out to more than 123,078 farmers and payments are ongoing. Payments of €198 million have also been made to 92,200 applicants under the Areas of Natural Constraints scheme.
In my concluding remarks to the stakeholder forum of last October, I reiterated my view that in the changing international economic landscape we need to take a fresh look at our tillage industry to ensure that it is best positioned to withstand future challenges and to avail of new opportunities which may present themselves. The Forum is therefore an opportunity to explore and build such opportunities, as well as addressing the challenges. As I stated in the Dáil just last week, I plan to convene a further meeting of the stakeholder’s forum in the very near future. This will provide the opportunity for all segments of the industry to work together to develop the sector.
197. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the provisions that are being made for the protection of areas designated as areas of natural constraint in County Kilkenny in the forthcoming review of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3660/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraArticle 32 of EU Regulation 1305/2013 requires all member states to implement a new system for designating eligible areas under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme from 2018 at the latest. At present, eligible land under the scheme is designated by reference to criteria such as stocking density, family farm income, population density and the percentage of the working population engaged in agriculture.
Under the new system of designation which must be introduced in 2018, eligible areas will have to be designated on the basis of biophysical criteria. The criteria set out in the legislation are:
- Low temperature
- Dryness
- Excess soil moisture
- Limited soil drainage
- Unfavourable texture and stoniness
- Shallow rooting depth
- Poor chemical properties
- Steep slope.
My Department has commenced work on this project, and relevant technical experts are currently sourcing and analysing the data in relation to the new criteria. This analysis will identify areas deemed to be facing natural constraints, which will in parallel, be subjected to a refinement process.
Once this process is complete, the draft data will provide the basis for the identification of eligible areas for ANC. It is envisaged that stakeholders will be consulted as this process develops.
198. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when outgoing payments made under the areas of natural constraint scheme will be increased by €25 million in line with the previous commitment given by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3661/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for a Partnership Government sets out the commitment to increase the budget for the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme by €25m in Budget 2018. Accordingly, the €25m will be allocated to the 2018 ANC Scheme.
199. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on the programme for Government commitment to introduce locally led agri-environment schemes which will target habitats such as the hen harrier and the pearl mussel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3675/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is currently in the process of introducing important new schemes under the locally-led umbrella for the conservation of the hen harrier and freshwater pearl mussel. I have provided a total budget of €35 million for these two schemes. Part of this process requires the recruitment, by public tender, of a Project Team to help develop and deliver these schemes on behalf of my Department, following a similar model to the highly successful Burren farming conservation measure. The closing date for the tender was 24 January and I would expect that the successful tenderer will be offered a contract before the end of February.
The successful tenderer will be directly involved in drawing up the terms and conditions for the new schemes, along with the range of actions to be applied and associated payments. This will be done in consultation with officials from my Department and from the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, as well as drawing on local knowledge and inputs from farmers on the ground. Once this stage has been completed, the process of recruiting farmers for a five year scheme will commence.
200. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason the price of diesel is increasing despite the fact that the price of crude oil is decreasing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3595/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Irish oil sector is completely privatised, liberalised and deregulated. There is free entry into the market and it is Government policy to encourage price competition and consumer choice. As such, I have no function in the setting of fuel prices.
The retail price of diesel is determined by a number of factors, and not just the price of crude oil. One of these is the price of the product in the international marketplace. As oil is traded exclusively in US Dollars, the strength/weakness of that currency against the euro is a factor in the price paid by the end consumer.
In addition, crude oil has to undergo several stages of production before it is refined into diesel for use in vehicles. The cost of that process is also a factor in the end price paid. Finally, levies and taxes, such as excise duty, environmental taxes and VAT, make up about 60% of the retail price.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC, under the aegis of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation) has a role in ensuring that the market is functioning correctly and that consumers are not being disadvantaged. Previous investigations and surveys into oil prices (available at www.ccpc.ie) that the CCPC have undertaken indicate that the price paid by consumers is largely determined by the internationally traded price of crude oil, the consequent price at which refined product is traded in Europe, and taxation levels, along with the level of competition in the retail market.
The European Commission maintains a Statistics and Market Observatory, which presents consumer prices for petroleum products in EU Member States (known as the Oil Bulletin) on a weekly basis. The Oil Bulletin is designed to improve the transparency of oil prices and to strengthen the internal market. The relevant link is: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/observatory/oil/bulletin_en.htm.
The latest bulletin from 16 January 2017 shows that diesel prices (including taxes) in Ireland were €1.279 per litre. The EU average for this period was €1.242, with the price paid in the United Kingdom listed at €1.39.
201. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide a list of applicants from the digital skills grant scheme; the criteria used in scoring each application; and the list of awardees and the amount each awardee received from this scheme and equivalent schemes for each of the years 2011 to 2016. [3624/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 18 November 2016, I issued an invitation to community, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations to apply for grant assistance under the Digital Skills for Citizens Grant Scheme which replaced the BenefIT Programme. The scheme’s Statement of Requirements specified the relevant qualification and award criteria, and is available on my Department’s website at www.dccae.gov.ie. In terms of eligibility, organisations had to meet the following minimum requirements:
- a minimum annual turnover of €100,000
- experience of having satisfactorily managed a project of a similar scale within the past 5 years.
Eligible organisations were assessed in terms of a published marking scheme in respect of the following headings:
- numbers of citizens to be trained, with a minimum threshold of 1,000
- detailed training proposal, and
- cost per trainee.
Overall, 29 applications were received in response to the competitive call for proposals, of which 22 organisations were eligible to be evaluated. A list of the applicants is set out in the following Table.
|
Name |
Organisations |
|
Age Action Ireland Ltd |
Lourdes Youth & Community Services (LYCS) |
|
Ballyhoura Development Company Ltd |
Make New Friends in Ireland Co. |
|
Cahir Development Association Ltd. |
Meath Community Rural & Social Development Partnership Ltd |
|
Clonmel Community Resource Centre |
(NCBI) National Council for the Blind Group |
|
County Sligo Leader Partnership Company Ltd |
Offaly County Council |
|
Dyspraxia/DCD Ireland Ltd |
Over 55 club |
|
ECDL Ireland Ltd |
Roscommon Integrated Development Company Ltd |
|
Edgeworthstown District Development Association Ltd. |
South East Community Training & Education Centre Ltd |
|
Family Carers Ireland Ltd |
South Tipperary Development Company |
|
Fast Track INTO Information Technology Ltd (FIT) |
St Catherine’s Community Services Centre Ltd |
|
IE Domain Registry Ltd |
The Cork Academy of Music Ltd |
|
Irish Congress of Trade Unions |
The Nagle Centre |
|
Irish Rural Link Co-Operative Society Ltd |
The Shanty Educational Project Ltd |
|
Irish Times Training |
Third Age Foundation Co. Ltd |
|
Killeshin Community Centre |
Following the evaluation process carried out by my officials, 15 organisations were offered grant funding to provide classroom training in 2017 to 25,761 citizens, free of charge. Details of the training classes, which will take place across every County, will be made available on my Department's website as soon as training schedules have been finalised.
Details of the total amount of grant funding awarded to each of the 15 successful organisations, together with the initial payments made in 2016 in accordance with the respective grant agreements, are outlined in the following Table.
|
Grantees – Digital Skills for Citizen Scheme |
Total Grant Awarded |
Payment in 2016 |
|
Age Action Ireland Ltd |
€221,490 |
€59,490 |
|
Ballyhoura Development Company Ltd |
€90,000 |
€27,000 |
|
County Sligo Leader Partnership Company Ltd |
€92,000 |
€27,600 |
|
ECDL Ireland Ltd |
€90,000 |
€27,000 |
|
Family Carers Ireland Ltd |
€92,000 |
€27,600 |
|
Fast Track INTO Information Technology Ltd (FIT) |
€320,000 |
€56,000 |
|
IE Domain Registry Ltd |
€100,000 |
€30,000 |
|
Irish Rural Link Co-Operative Society Ltd |
€105,599 |
€31,680 |
|
Meath Community Rural & Social Development Partnership Ltd |
€85,000 |
€25,500 |
|
(NCBI) National Council for the Blind Group |
€100,000 |
€30,000 |
|
Roscommon Integrated Development Company Ltd |
€595,000 |
€59,500 |
|
South East Community Training & Education Centre Ltd |
€85,000 |
€25,500 |
|
St Catherine’s Community Services Centre Ltd |
€85,000 |
€25,500 |
|
The Cork Academy of Music Ltd |
€80,000 |
€24,000 |
|
Third Age Foundation Co. Ltd |
€80,000 |
€24,000 |
Eight of the organisations in receipt of grant funding under the Digital Skills for Citizens Scheme were grantees under previous BenefIT schemes. Details of the funding to each of these grantees in the years 2011-2016 are provided in the following Table.
|
Grantees – BenefIT Programme |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
Age Action Ireland Ltd |
€195,500 |
€34,500 |
€241,260 |
€215,400 |
€107,700 |
€107,700 |
|
Ballyhoura Development Company Ltd |
€32,500 |
€8,125 |
||||
|
County Sligo Leader Partnership Company Ltd |
€35,228 |
€15,997 |
€15,997 |
€15,997 |
||
|
ECDL Ireland Ltd |
€150,896 |
€174,240 |
€158,400 |
€158,400 |
||
|
Family Carers Ireland Ltd |
€47,966 |
€25,623 |
€29,846 |
€14,922 |
||
|
Fast Track INTO Information Technology Ltd (FIT) |
€199,920 |
€415,800 |
€206,500 |
€292,250 |
€189,000 |
|
|
Irish Rural Link Co-Operative Society Ltd |
€45,900 |
€2,200 |
€108,900 |
€49,500 |
€74,250 |
€49,500 |
|
Meath Community Rural & Social Development Partnership Ltd |
€31,559 |
€5,569 |
€15,758 |
€31,516 |
202. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason an aircraft (details supplied) operating on behalf of the US military was permitted to fly from Shannon Airport to Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey and then back on 30 December 2016; if he will confirm that the plane cargo carried no weapons or munitions related to drone strikes or nuclear weapons; the steps that were taken to confirm if it did or did not carry such cargo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3539/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraCivil aircraft are not normally required to notify or seek permission from my Department for overflights of Ireland or for technical stops at Irish airports. The aircraft referred to in the question made such a technical stop at Shannon on 30 December for refuelling purposes. The airline did not notify or seek permission from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in relation to this flight.
The carriage of munitions on board an aircraft in Irish airspace does require a permit under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order, 1973 if munitions of war are on board.
Ireland's procedures and regulations in relation to civil aircraft in Irish airspace, including in relation to munitions, are outlined in detail in a standard international civil aviation document known as the Integrated Aeronautical Information Package. This document is published on the Irish Aviation Authority's website.
The Department has contacted the airline concerned to remind it of these requirements and to enquire as to the circumstances surrounding the flight on 30 December. My officials are also liaising with the Department of Foreign Affairs and will be meeting with the US Embassy shortly to discuss Ireland's procedures and regulations in relation to such flights.
203. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of fishing vessel owners who failed to return logbooks to the Marine Survey Office or forwarded them without crew agreements in each of the years 2014 to 2016; the action that was taken on those that were non-compliant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3535/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra204. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of log books that were returned by fishing vessel owners to the Marine Survey Office in each of the years 2014 to 2016; the number of these that had crew agreements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3536/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 204 together.
Owners and Skippers of Irish Fishing Vessels of 25 Gross Tonnage and upwards are required under the Merchant Shipping Acts to maintain a log for the vessel (an Official Logbook) and to enter into an agreement with their crew (a Crew Agreement). These two requirements are combined into a single document.
During 2012, in consultation with the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) and the Irish Fishermen's Organisation (IFO), the existing Fishing Vessel Logbook was reviewed and updated by my Department, to provide a more user friendly document, while highlighting statutory requirements and obligations. The newly published Fishing Vessel Logbook entitled 'Crew Agreement, List of Crew and Official Logbook of a Fishing Vessel of 25 Tons Tonnage or Upwards', was effective from 1st January 2013.
Fishing Vessel Logbooks should be utilised on, or as soon as a vessel is next operational, after 1st January and 1st July each year. They should run for a maximum period of six months, expiring on the next day following 30th day of June or 31st day of December, as the case may be.
Commercial sea fishing is regulated by the Fisheries Acts, 1959 to 2006 and comes under the remit of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Therefore my Department would not maintain data on the number of licensed fishing vessels operating at any period in time. The requirement to submit Logbooks to my Department arises in the context of the safe operation of the vessel and the welfare of the crew. The Marine Survey Office (MSO) of my Department carries out surveys and inspections of fishing vessels and compliance with the requirements regarding official logbooks is enforced by the MSO, including where appropriate the prosecution of offenders through the courts.
The number of FV Logbooks returned to my Department for the years 2014 to 2016 are detailed in the following table. I should point out that the figure for 2016 reflects the number of logbooks received to date. As logbooks for this year are still being received by my Department, it is envisaged that this figure will increase over the coming weeks.
Numbers of Fishing Vessel Logbooks Returned by Year
|
Period |
Years |
||
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
|
January - June |
94 |
102 |
119 |
|
July- December |
97 |
112 |
60 |
|
Total Number/Year |
191 |
214 |
179 |
