Written Answers Nos 272-291
272. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if funding will be allocated by his Department and or by the HSE for a building project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19075/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Emergency Department in Cavan has been performing well and is not currently a site of concern.
The RCSI Hospital Group has identified the need for development of the resuscitation area in Cavan Emergency Department. Any future investment in Cavan General Hospital must be considered within the overall acute hospital infrastructure programme, the prioritised needs of the hospital groups and within the overall capital envelope available to the health service.
The HSE will continue to apply the available funding for infrastructure development in the most cost effective way possible to meet current and future needs, having regard to the level of commitments and costs to completion already in place. During 2017 my Department is working with the HSE and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to conduct a mid-term review of the capital programme.
273. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health when it is proposed to have full bed capacity restored at a hospital (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19080/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) provides specialist rehabilitation services (inpatient, outpatient and day-patient services) to patients with complex needs, who have acquired a physical or cognitive disability as a result of an accident, illness or injury and require specialist medical rehabilitation services. The Government recognises the excellent rehabilitation programme which the National Rehabilitation Hospital delivers and the Hospital's excellent patient outcomes.
The complexity and acuity of patients referred to the NRH for rehabilitation programmes has increased in recent years, resulting in greater challenges for the hospital. I understand that in response to this, the NRH has reduced its existing bed capacity by 12 beds. This will enable the hospital to provide a safe and appropriate level of care from within existing resources.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is working with the NRH in order to optimise capacity in the facility by positively attempting to address concerns regarding funding, along with the provision of specialist supports via the HSE Clinical Programmes Division.
As the Deputy's question relates to service matters, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the Health Service Executive for a more detailed response.
274. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health when a medical card will issue in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19120/17]
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 Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information was issued to Oireachtas members.
275. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 244 of 6 April 2017, the details of the Food Dudes project and the school fruit scheme projects; the locations being targeted by these projects; the number of communities and schools that have benefitted from this; the number that are expected to benefit and the timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19019/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraA taste for fruit and vegetables is promoted in Irish primary schools through Food Dudes, which was developed by Bangor University, Wales and is the model chosen by Ireland to implement the EU School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme. The programme is managed by Bord Bia and funded by my Department and the EU. The cost for the 2016/2017 school year is estimated to be €3.167m, including EU funding of €1.309m.
Food Dudes aims to develop a taste for fruit and vegetables among primary schoolchildren and to encourage increased consumption through repeated tasting of fruit and vegetables over a 16-day intervention period, supported by accompanying measures in the form of role models (Food Dudes Heroes) and small rewards. The intervention period is followed by a home phase during which parents continue to provide fruit and vegetables in red and green ‘Food Dudes’ lunch boxes.
Food Dudes is open to all primary schools as it was considered that a general approach embracing all primary schoolchildren, including children with special needs, was advisable. The first roll-out concluded in 2014 having reached 477,423 school children and 3,127 schools, representing 95% of primary schools. Building on the success of the programme, a Food Dudes Boost Programme was piloted and introduced in late 2014. It has a stronger focus on the Junior Cycle (junior infants to second class) who enjoy a 16-day tasting period, while Senior students (third to sixth class) take part in an 8-day tasting period. By the end of this school year, Food Dudes Boost will have been implemented in 2,209 schools and reached 357,533 children. It is expected that the Boost roll-out will conclude in the 2017/2018 school year, that is in under 4 years compared to 9 years for the original programme.
|
Participants |
Schools |
Students |
|
2014/2015 |
683 |
114,397 |
|
2015/2016 |
701 |
113,136 |
|
2016/2017 (to date) |
836 |
129,204 |
|
2017/2018 (targets) |
825 |
125,000 |
My Department and Bord Bia are currently considering the design of a further Food Dudes model, which will have a starting date in the 2018/19 school year. It is envisaged that this will again focus particularly on Junior and Senior Infant classes, as early interventions have been found to have the greatest impact. It will also include measures to sustain the increases in consumption of fruit and vegetables achieved to date. A new EU framework, which will take effect from 1 August 2017 provides for some increase in funding.
Food Dudes has been evaluated several times. Each evaluation has shown increased fruit and vegetable consumption in the target group. An evaluation by UCD in 2011 showed that fruit consumption increased by 20% (from 58.5% to 78.5%) and vegetable consumption by 42% (from 11.5% to 53.5%). The most recent evaluation was carried out by UCD in 2016 and comprised 3 studies - a longitudinal study which revisited children who had participated in an evaluation 6 years previously, a second study focused on Senior Cycle students and a third study focused on Junior Cycle students. The longitudinal study was the first of its kind in Ireland. It showed that this particular group of children was consuming 13% more fruit and 6% more vegetables in 2016 than before they took part in the Food Dudes intervention in 2010. The second study (Senior Cycle) and third study (Junior Cycle) both showed that fruit and vegetables consumption increased following the Food Dudes intervention. The programme was found to be most effective amongst the Junior Cycle, especially in the case of vegetables, where there was more than a fourfold increase in quantities brought in to school and consumed in school after the intervention.
Ireland is regarded as a leader in successful implementation of the EU School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme through the choice of the Food Dudes model, which is backed up by strong scientific evidence. The EU has suggested Ireland as a good source of advice to a number of Member States, most recently, Finland who visited Ireland before Christmas to see Food Dudes Boost first hand. Since that visit, Finland has made its first application for EU funding to implement a School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme.
276. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the €217 million allocated under the capital plan to 2016 for rural development, seafood development and forestry programmes has been spent; the progress made to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18756/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table:
The €217 million capital allocated in 2016 to my Department referred to by the Deputy was increased to €229m when the €12m capital carried into 2017 from 2016 is taken into account. Of this €160.1 million was allocated to cover capital expenditure under the Rural Development Programme, Seafood Development ( the European Maritime & Fisheries Fund Operational Programme) and Forestry programme. The Forestry programme allocation of almost €112m shown in the table below includes the €12m carried over amount.
|
Title of Scheme/Programme |
2016 Allocation€000 |
2016 Outturn€000 |
|
Rural Development Programme ( TAMS) |
35,800 |
7,806 |
|
Forestry |
111,955 |
102,201 |
|
Seafood Development |
12,275 |
3,670 |
|
Totals |
160,104 |
113,677 |
Clearly expenditure in 2016 for these schemes/programmes was lower than the estimated provision, but in each case I am confident that 2017 will see more substantial drawdown.
- Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme – Since TAMS II was launched in late 2015 more than 6,900 approvals have been issued to farmers. These approvals under Tranches 1 to 5 allow farmers a three year window in which to complete their investment works and make a claim. The 2016 outturn of €7.8 million against the budget of €35.8 million includes payments for only 309 TAMS II grants as well as residual payments under the previous TAMS I schemes. This clearly indicates that many approval holders choose to delay activating those approvals in 2016 but I expect there will be far greater activity in 2017. Furthermore for future tranches the validity period of the approvals has been reduced.
- Forestry – The new afforestation target of 6,500ha was achieved in 2016 but there was a lower than expected drawdown of premia payments for existing forestry for a number of reasons including where forest owners do not apply for their premia, possibly to allow premia to build up to be claimed at some future date, or non-payment of premiums because of poor forest maintenance. Also, under the Forestry Support Scheme, there was a substantial shortfall on forest roads expenditure, however, the implementation of a single consent system for planning forest entrances is anticipated to increase applications to build forest roads and substantially greater expenditure in 2017.
- 2016 was the first year of implementation of the EMFF Operational Programme and most of these schemes attracted satisfactory levels of applications. While payment claims were relatively low for a range of reasons, I anticipate a substantially higher level of draw-down in 2017 as projects are initiated and/or completed.
277. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount which was provided for under the capital plan for on-farm investment in the post-milk period; the amount which has been spent; the number of farms that have received funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18757/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is a budget of €395m allocated under the Rural Development Plan 2014 - 2020 in respect of on-farm investment in the TAMS II Schemes.
A total of 691 applications have been paid to date amounting to €8.9m. Approvals and payments continue on an on going basis.
278. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount which was provided for under the capital plan for the fisheries harbour centre; the amount which has been spent; the progress made to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18758/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 5 February, I announced details of the 2017 Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme. I have approved funding of €28m for the Programme this year, with €2.8m allocated for the 2017 Local Authority Harbour Development and Marine Leisure Programme.
As a significant number of the projects at the six Fishery Harbour Centres are currently at the planning and/or procurement phase, with others just commencing works, it is too early to offer definitive expenditure information at this point.
279. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount which was provided for under the capital plan for the 43,000 hectares of new forests; the amount which has been spent; the progress made to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18759/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra280. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount which was provided for under the capital plan for the afforestation grants for new planting; the amount which has been spent; the progress made to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18760/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra281. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount which was provided for under the capital plan for the payment of annual forestry premia to farmers that have converted their land to forestry; the amount which has been spent; the progress made to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18761/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 279 to 281, inclusive, together.
The capital plan for forestry is set out in the Forestry Programme 2014 - 2020. This represents a continuation of the Government's policy on forestry, following on from the Forestry Programme 2007-2013 and previous Programmes. During the lifetime of this current programme the Department will spend approximately €482 million on forestry which will include commitments to premiums and grants arising from planting under previous programmes.
The current Programme provides for funding of approximately €200 million for new afforestation of some 43,000 hectares for the six year planting period. Of this amount approximately €126 million relates to the payment of new afforestation grants and €74 million for associated premiums during the programme period. There will be ongoing liabilities beyond 2020 relating to the second instalment of the establishment grant and the 15 annual premiums payments to persons who plant under this Programme.
Total spending on new afforestation for the period from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2017 as provided for under the new programme is €43 million. This figure excludes expenditure for planting that was approved under previous programmes. Afforestation grant payments made from the 1/1/2015 up to the 31/3/2017 in relation to new planting under the current Forestry Programme amount to approximately €31 million. The associated premium payments for the same period amount to approximately €12 million.
Planting so far under the new programme is broadly in line with targets set although it is difficult to determine the final planting figure for 2017 as it is too early in the year to make an accurate assessment.
282. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount which was provided for under the capital plan for Food Wise 2025; the amount which has been spent; the progress made to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18762/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFood Wise 2025, the ten year strategy for the agrifood sector, identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow the sector to grow and prosper. Food Wise includes more than 400 specific recommendations, spread across the cross-cutting themes of sustainability, innovation, human capital, market development and competitiveness; as well as specific sectoral recommendations.
By the end of 2016, of the 330 actions that were due to commence in 2015 or 2016, 40% of the actions have been achieved or substantial action has been undertaken and a further 57% of the actions have commenced and are progressing. I believe that this is a good start and I will press on to get as many actions as possible completed within the next year.
Many of the schemes and measures funded through my Department's capital allocation contribute to the delivery of the ambitious projections outlined in Food Wise 2025. This is in addition to expenditure by the agrifood sector and the relevant agencies and organisations
all working towards the delivery of Food Wise 2025 targets.
283. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of wind blow grant aid for a person (detail supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18850/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Reconstitution Scheme (Windblow) was established in 2016, to provide support for forest owners to replant forestry that had suffered damage during a succession of storms in the winter of 2013/2014, culminating in Storm Darwin on 12 February 2014. Only forestry planted after 1 December 1989 was eligible under this reconstitution scheme.
Since the forestry belonging to the person named was planted before 1 December, 1989, they will not be eligible for this Scheme. Applications are now closed and it will not be extended to capture forestry planted before this date.
284. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18880/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application in respect of the 2016 Basic Payment was submitted by the person named on 15 November 2016 thus incurring 100% late penalty as it was outside the timeframe allowed. Following submission of an appeal, the late penalty has been waived and payment will issue in the coming days.
285. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18887/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application in respect of the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme was received from the person named 9 May 2016 declaring a total of 27.32 hectares in respect of the 23.77 entitlements held and payments have issued respect of this element of the application. The eligibility of the parcel referred to will be reviewed on the basis of the documentation recently received. Upon the completion of this review an official from my Department will be in direct contact with the person named.
286. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he travelled abroad as part of the St. Patrick's Day celebrations; the locations he travelled to; the duration of the trip; the cost of the trip, including travel and accommodation in addition to other expenses incurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18888/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI represented the Government at the St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Germany. I engaged in a 5 day itinerary visiting Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne and Berlin. The programme included political meetings with regional Agriculture Ministers and a Bilateral meeting with the Federal Minister for Agriculture. It also included a number of Agrifood trade promotional events, important cultural activities and opportunities for engagement with the Irish Community in Germany and the wider Diaspora. Full details of my programme and the associated expenses are published on my Department's website: http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/aboutus/ministers/ministercreed/ministercreedtrademissionexpenses/
287. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of a GLAS contract for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18932/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraA GLAS three application was submitted on behalf of the person named on 14 December 2016.
Initial checks indicated that the Rare Breed action had been selected and documentation uploaded with the application needed to be verified as part of the approval process. This work has now been completed and the application has now passed the full suite of pre approval validations and will move forward to the final stage of the approval process for ranking and selection.
When this process is complete the person named will be notified in writing of the outcome of this application.
288. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total payments under the GLAS scheme each year since its inception and to date in 2017; the total provision in the 2017 estimate for GLAS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18976/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information on total payments per annum for GLAS to date is set out in the following table:
The 2017 provision in the estimates for GLAS is €214m.
|
Year |
€ |
|
2015 |
11,452,000.00 |
|
2016 |
102,615,247.13 |
|
2017 |
19,631,911.96 |
|
Total |
133,699,159.09 |
289. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18986/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is aware that, in a limited number of cases, applications were not visible online while vital data was being updated.
In the case of the individual named, this process is now complete and the applicant may proceed with his BPS Online application.
290. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of payments to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18987/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named was approved into GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of 1 October 2015 and has received full entitlements in respect of the 2015 scheme year.
During the 2016 prepayment checking process an issue presented on the computerised crosscheck of Department databases in relation to the protection of watercourses action. Department officials are examining this issue and the application will be further processed for payment in respect of the 2016 scheme year when it is resolved.
291. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the criteria changes that have been made to the beef genomics scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18988/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI announced this morning that the Beef Data and Genomics Programme will be reopened to beef suckler farmers who are not already part of the scheme. The scheme will be known as BDGP II and will, like the original, commit to six years of payments to farmers for completion of actions aimed at delivering accelerated genetic improvement in the national herd and improvement of its environmental sustainability. Payment rates and actions for participants in BDGP II will be the same as those in BDGP I with the exception that the training and carbon navigator actions must be completed by 31 October 2017. I am also glad to say that provision has been made for new entrants to suckler farming in the scheme and it is these farmers that will drive the future of the Irish suckler herd.
The success of the BDGP scheme over the course of its first two years led to many calls for the programme to be re-opened. Its benefits in driving both genetic improvement and sustainability of our beef farms are now well recognised. This is a significant investment in the suckler sector and a real vote of confidence by this Government in its future.
The scheme will be open for applications from next Wednesday 19 April and the closing date for receipt of applications, both online and paper, will be Monday 8 May 2017.
