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Wednesday, 8 Feb 2017

Written Answers Nos. 235 - 244

Aquaculture Licences

Ceisteanna (235)

Clare Daly

Ceist:

235. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 182 of 14 April 2016, when An Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Marine Institute will issue a response. [6138/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Due to an administrative error within my Department, I regret that Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Marine Institute were not made aware of the original PQ request.  The request has now been forwarded to the State bodies and I am advised that both State bodies will respond directly to the Deputy within 7 days. The delay in response is sincerely regretted.

GLAS Payments

Ceisteanna (236)

Declan Breathnach

Ceist:

236. Deputy Declan Breathnach asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there are continuing delays in payments under the GLAS scheme; when a person (details supplied) will receive payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6142/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The person named was approved into GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of the 1 October 2015 and has received an 85% first instalment payment in respect of the 2015 scheme year. 

During the 2015 balancing prepayment checking process an issue was identified with Low Input Permanent Pasture action.  Department officials are actively working to resolve this issue with a view to issuing the 2015 balancing payment as soon as possible.

Following the issue of payment in respect of the 2015 scheme year, the prepayment checking process will get under way in respect of 2016.

Agriculture Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (237)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

237. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a farm payment in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6156/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The application from the person named under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) was subject to a prepayment inspection. There were issues identified with the payment claim as a result. These issues will be finalised in a matter of weeks.

Food Imports

Ceisteanna (238)

Thomas Pringle

Ceist:

238. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the continued exclusion from supplying live brown crab from Ireland to China which has been ongoing for 14 months; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this length of time is significantly longer than similar bans in France and the UK which were excluded for shorter periods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6207/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The implementation of food regulations for imports to China is a matter for the Chinese authorities. Ireland applies stringent European standards and follows procedures which include monitoring the safety of Irish seafood so that consumers can continue to have high confidence in the quality of Irish seafood. The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority is the competent authority under food safety law for this matter. 

The Authority continues to work with Chinese import control officials on this market access issue, supported by officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  A visit to Irish Crab production and State Laboratory facilities by Chinese import control officials was hosted in May 2016.  Following this, there has been continuing communications between the Authority and Chinese officials on this issue.  The issue was further discussed between Irish and Chinese experts in the course of Ireland’s trade mission to China in September 2016.  The Authority is continuing strenuous efforts to secure agreement with Chinese officials for resumption of this trade at the earliest possible date.

Basic Payment Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (239)

Michael D'Arcy

Ceist:

239. Deputy Michael D'Arcy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a 2015 BPS payment will issue to a person (details supplied) who has had entitlements transferred to them and land leased; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6273/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The person named submitted a 2015 Private Contract Clause application to my Department seeking the transfer of land and entitlements by lease as transferee. The land parcels that were the subject of this transfer application had been declared by a third party on their 2013 Single Payment Scheme Application. As a result the transferor held no allocation right on these parcels and the Private Contract Clause application was deemed to be unsuccessful. The person named was notified in writing of this decision and was subsequently advised of the documentation to submit in order to resolve the case.

The person named subsequently submitted a separate 2015 Private Contract Clause application to my Department seeking the transfer of land and entitlements from the transferor who holds the allocation rights on the parcels that are the subject of the transfer.

An official from my Department has spoken to the transferor to discuss issues in relation to the transfer application. The transferor has also been notified of this matter in writing and my Department is awaiting a reply to this correspondence from the transferor in order to proceed with the Transfer application concerned.

Agriculture Schemes

Ceisteanna (240)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

240. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a ground inspection well be organised for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6274/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

My Department will make arrangements to prioritise a ground inspection of the parcel mentioned so that it can take place as soon as it is practically possible.

Teagasc Courses

Ceisteanna (241)

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

241. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress being made to meet the demand for courses (details supplied); if additional personnel will be recruited to enable demand to be met and to eliminate the delays that occur for farmers wishing to participate on such courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6282/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

My Department has been working closely with Teagasc to resolve staffing issues in relation to the adult Green Cert arising from the introduction of the Young Farmers Scheme and National Reserve in 2015, which required successful applicants to complete a FETAC level 6 (Green Cert) or its equivalent in order to qualify for payment.

As Teagasc did not have sufficient capacity to deal with the surge in applications for the Green Cert, it was agreed that additional temporary resources would be provided to rapidly expand the number of Green Cert places. In conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Teagasc was approved to appoint 70 temporary education officers in the period 2014 to 2016 on two year contracts of employment; 7 temporary administrators were also approved in 2015 for a two year period to address the huge volume of course administration that arose from the unprecedented demand. The additional resources helped Teagasc to enrol 4,000 adult learners since late 2014.

As Teagasc continue to experience strong demand for the Green Cert, I understand that they are actively considering a range of resource options to address projected demand on a phased basis from 2017 to 2019. I am pleased to confirm that Teagasc’s request for 15 new temporary posts to meet acute demand pressure points in some geographical locations was recently approved by my Department. Assignment of those posts to particular locations is an operational matter for Teagasc.

Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (242)

Pat Breen

Ceist:

242. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments will issue to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6287/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

An application under the 2016 Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme was received in my Department from the person named on 3 May 2016.

Under the 2016 ANC Scheme, eligible applicants are required to have met a minimum stocking density of 0.15 livestock units for a retention period of seven consecutive months and to maintain an annual average of 0.15 livestock units calculated over the twelve months of the scheme year.  Payment under the ANC scheme has not issued at this stage, as the holding concerned has not satisfied the scheme’s minimum stocking density requirements and is registered as dormant of stock.

Agriculture Scheme Payments

Ceisteanna (243)

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

243. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to improve financial supports in respect of the bovine viral diarrhoea eradication programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6294/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I announced increased financial supports for the early removal of PI (persistently infected) calves under the national Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) Eradication Programme last month. These improved supports provide  for the following:

Beef Herds 

€185 if the calf is removed within 21 days (3 weeks) of the first positive or inconclusive test.

€60 if the calf is removed between day 22 and 35 (4th and 5th week of the first positive or inconclusive test). 

Dairy Herds

€150 if the female dairy and dairy cross calves are removed within 21 days (3 weeks) of the first positive or inconclusive test.

€35 if the female dairy and dairy cross calves are removed between day 22 and 35 (the 4th and 5th week) of the first positive or inconclusive test.

I have also provided a payment for the first time in respect of the disposal of PI dairy bulls. Under the new arrangements, farmers will receive a payment of €30 towards the disposal of the PI dairy bull through the abattoir or knackery within 21 days of the first positive or inconclusive test. In addition, confirmatory testing will be by blood sampling only carried out by the farmers private veterinary practitioner with the costs of this test to be covered by my Department. 

Agriculture Scheme Eligibility

Ceisteanna (244)

Lisa Chambers

Ceist:

244. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the effect on a commonage if one of the shareholders does not abide by the rules and restrictions of the SAC; and if the GLAS payments for the other persons (details supplied) will be affected if they are doing things correctly and abiding by the rules of the SAC. [6310/17]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) are the competent authority for the designation of and setting of compliance criteria for SAC and SPA areas.  Compliance with these requirements is an element of the Cross Compliance requirements and all applicants under the various EU funded area-based schemes, e.g. BPS, ANC, GLAS, must comply with them. Under EU regulations governing these schemes my Department is obliged to undertake inspections on an annual basis to check compliance with the requirements.  Where is it determined, as part of a Department inspection process, that an applicant is non-compliant with such requirements, a penalty may be applied. A penalty will apply where the non-compliance determined is found to be directly attributable to the beneficiary who submitted the scheme application. In the case of commonages a penalty would be applied to all of the shareholders where the non-compliance determined can be directly attributed to each of the shareholders.

In addition, the NPWS may cross report cases of non-compliance to my Department for appropriate attention and application of penalties, on the basis set out above.

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