Written Answers Nos. 700-716
700. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all farm payments which are due to a person (details supplied) will issue in full without further delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30025/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe above named was approved into GLAS 2 with a contract commencement date of 1 January 2016.
Administrative checks involving a number of sections within the Department take place on all GLAS claims. All cases must clear validation checks before payment can issue. Department officials are working proactively to complete the checks in this case. Once this case clears validations the outstanding payments will be made. GLAS payments are issuing on a weekly basis.
The person named submitted their 2017 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application on the 8th May 2017. Payments due under the 2017 BPS issued to the person named in October and December of 2017.
701. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal against a decision related to a recent cross-compliance inspection in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30026/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the terms and conditions of the Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme, an applicant as well as meeting scheme criteria, must comply with the EU regulatory requirements relating to Cross Compliance.
The 2017 Scheme Year application of the person named was selected for a Full Cross Compliance inspection, which includes checks across a range of Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) and Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC).
This inspection identified breaches relating to Bovine Identification and Registration resulting in a final penalty of 5% being applied against the 2017 Direct Payments. The person named was notified of this decision by letter on 27th February 2018.
The person named sought a review of this decision and this matter is currently being examined by the District Inspector for the region. The person named will be notified directly of the outcome as soon as possible.
In the event that the person named is dissatisfied with the outcome of this review the decision can be appealed to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office, within three months.
702. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason Ireland opted to take forestry out of its rural development programme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30056/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland’s Forestry Programme 2014-2020 was approved by the Government and secured State Aid approval from the European Commission in 2015. The programme was developed in accordance with a number of EU and National policy and regulatory requirements:
1. European Union Guidelines on State Aid for agriculture and forestry and in rural areas 2014 to 2020 addressing in particular the Common Assessment Principles;
2. Regulation (EU) no 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD);
3. European Commission's Guidelines for Strategic Programming for the period 2014-2020;
4. Foodwise 2025;
5. COFORD’s Forests, products and people – Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision;
Ireland’s forestry schemes were co-financed by the EU until 2006 under the CAP Rural Development Programme, but since then have been 100% funded by the Exchequer. The 2007 to 2013 RDP only allowed a reduced establishment grant rate (max 80% of costs) which represented a significant shift in policy and in payment levels from what was historically available.
Ireland has the second lowest level of forestry cover in the EU at 11% where the average cover is 38%. Given this low level of forest cover in Ireland, our need to expand our forest estate and the need to make available incentives that would convince farmers to plant their land it was decided that the type of scheme implementable through RDP 2007-2013 would not be capable of delivering an effective afforestation programme in Ireland. Accordingly it was decided to seek State Aid approval to deliver an exchequer-funded forestry programme in Ireland from 2007.
The Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 limited forestry premiums paid for planting to 12 years compared to the 20-year premiums paid in the preceding programme. This would have had a significant impact on forestry planting levels in Ireland. Accordingly the State Aid approval route was used again for the 2014-2020 Programme in order to provide sufficient incentives for landowners to plant trees on their land.
703. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the licensed hauliers who are approved to transport poultry litter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30064/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe transportation of animal by-products (ABP) including poultry litter is governed by the EU Animal By-Product Regulation (EC) No. 1069 of 2009 and Regulation (EU) No. 142 of 2011 which are given legal effect by The European Communities (Animal By-Product) Regulations 2014 (SI No. 187/2014). The list of hauliers registered in accordance with these regulations can be found on my Department's website at the link below:
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/agri-foodindustry/animalbyproducts/euapprovedabpplants/
In addition to the general conditions that a haulier is required to meet, poultry litter hauliers are issued with a specific guidelines titled "Legal obligations and good practice guidelines for poultry litter hauliers". This document is attached for information and can also be accessed at this link.
704. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the protections in place to prevent the monopolisation of farm or agricultural land that has the effect of significantly limiting the capacity of small and medium sized farms to expand (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30090/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are no statutory restrictions in place on the sale of land. The former Irish Land Commission was abolished under the Irish Land Commission Dissolution Act, 1992 and there are no plans to re-establish such a commission.
705. Deputy Colm Brophy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has identified laws which are dependent on, or in place as a consequence of, Article 41.2 of the Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30092/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has not identified any laws which are dependent on, or in place as a consequence of, Article 41.2 of the Constitution.
706. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps that can be taken by a person (details supplied) to have international qualifications recognised here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30125/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with the Veterinary Practice Act 2005, the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) is the competent authority for the recognition of qualifications of veterinary nursing.
The assessment of a veterinary nursing qualification is determined on a case by case basis by the VCI. The applicant should contact the Veterinary Council of Ireland at info@vci.ie for further information on the recognition procedure which must be successfully completed prior to registration as a veterinary nurse in Ireland.
707. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers who availed of the fodder transport subsidy in numerical terms and expressed as a percentage of the overall number of farmers. [30270/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to weather conditions experienced by farmers over a number of months, my Department put in place a range of supports for farmers facing fodder shortages. The Fodder Transport Scheme was one of these supports, and was introduced in order to make a financial contribution towards forage transport costs in certain circumstances.
Under the Fodder Transport Scheme 606 applications were received. There are some 139,000 farm in Ireland, and approximately 130,000 farms apply to my Department for support under a range of schemes available to them. The 606 applicants for the Fodder Transport Scheme represent 0.46% of these 130,000 farmers. Payments under the Scheme are scheduled to commence shortly.
708. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proposed redeployment and redevelopment of his Department's laboratories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30305/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing a competitive tender process, my Department has commissioned a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of options that have been proposed for the future development of the Regional Veterinary Laboratories (RVLs). The team conducting the CBA includes internationally recognised, independent experts in economic analysis and animal disease surveillance. It is currently finalising its work, after which a report and recommendations will be presented to me.
To date no decision has been taken in respect of the options proposed for the RVLs. My Department completed an initial consultative process with all relevant stakeholders on the options for the RVLs during the course of last year. Any decision that is made on the RVLs will be informed by both that consultative process and the outcome of the CBA.
709. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is a risk of clawback on grants or payments under TAMS drawn down in the last two years if a partnership or sole trader is converted to a limited company (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30316/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFor the purposes of the TAMS Schemes where a registered farm partnership is dissolved after payment of a TAMS grant, the former partner(s) that has control of the land on which the investment is located must give an undertaking to use that investment for its intended purpose for a minimum of 5 years from the date of issue of the final payment in respect of the investments grant-aided.
The dissolution of a partnership can potentially result in the following:
- The reduction of payment;
- The reduction of investment ceilings;
- The recoupment of payments made;
- Adjustment of investment balances for ex-partners.
- Force Majeure will be taken into consideration before any recoupment/reduction takes place.
Where a partnership dissolves in any period between the submission of an application and up to five years after the date of final payment, notification of the dissolution must be sent to TAMS II section, Johnstown Castle Estate, Wexford, within four working weeks. Each case will be examined on its own merits.
There are no issues if a sole applicant who applied as an individual subsequently forms a company as the grant rate and ceiling are not affected.
Where partnerships are dissolved and a company is formed there will potentially be a recoupment of grant aid if the relevant investment ceiling was over €80,000. If a young farmer was involved in the partnership there will also be a recoupment of the difference between the 40% and 60% grant rate.
710. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an outstanding payment will be made to a person (details supplied) without further delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30343/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides financial support measures for farmers under the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea programme (BVD). Payment is contingent on disposal of all PI animals born in the herd within timeframes set down in the Terms and Conditions. An application for compensation under the scheme was submitted to my Department by the herdowner concerned, however as he did not satisfy all the terms and conditions, it was not possible to process the payment.
The herdowner subsequently submitted an appeal, this is being processed at present and he will be informed of the decision shortly.
711. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the public consultation on the sales of animals and the pet shop code of conduct to 31 July 2018 will be extended to facilitate those that wish to make submissions. [30459/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI launched a public consultation on the advertisement and sale of pet animals on 23rd May and encouraged all interested parties to contribute.
My Department is seeking, through this consultation, views on two matters:
- the introduction of a voluntary Code of Practice for pet shops, and
- whether further legislation is needed for the advertisement and sale of pet animals and if so, what issues need to be considered.
I am pleased with the level of engagement on this consultation to date, and in view of the importance of the subject, would be happy to extend the deadline for further responses until 31st July 2018.
Documents relating to the consultation can be accessed on my Department's website at https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/customerservice/publicconsultations/.
Submissions can be sent by email to : AHWD.Consultation@agriculture.gov.ie, or by post.
712. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of dairy cows in the national herd in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30461/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe following table details the number of dairy cows in Ireland as extracted from the December Livestock survey from the Central Statistics Office from the period 2010 to 2017. The figure for December 2018 will not be available until 2019.
|
Year |
Dairy |
|
2010 |
1,006,900 |
|
2011 |
1,035,600 |
|
2012 |
1,060,300 |
|
2013 |
1,082,500 |
|
2014 |
1,127,700 |
|
2015 |
1,239,900 |
|
2016 |
1,295,200 |
|
2017 |
1,343,300 |
In 2017, Ireland exported dairy products to approaching 140 countries with a value exceeding €4.6 billion, an increase of over 17% compared to 2016, representing high-quality value-added produce.
Irish milk production in 2017 approached 7.5 billion litres, up from 6.8 billion litres in 2016 and an increase of almost 50% on 2007-2009 average (Food Harvest target).
The long-term fundamentals of the global dairy market are strong, with growing global demand projected from fast developing countries with increasing middle classes and more westernised diets. Whilst significant challenges have continued throughout recent years, I am confident that the Irish and EU dairy sector is well placed to gain from the opportunity presented by expanding global demand whilst simultaneously addressing the aforementioned challenges with a particular focus on the challenges of price volatility. Ireland must of course continue to ensure that any increase in the output of the Irish dairy herd is carried out in both an economic and sustainable manner.
713. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of suckler cows in the national herd in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30462/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe requested information for the years 2010-2017 is provided below as obtained from the Department's Animal Identification Movement system (AIM). The classification is based on the definition of suckler cows as the number of beef cows who have calved at least once in their lifetime at the end of December of each year. 2018 data is not yet available.
Total National Suckler Cows: 2010 to 2017
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
1,063,238 |
1,060,866 |
1,104,619 |
1,056,169 |
1,012,507 |
1,019,561 |
1,009,075 |
986,877 |
714. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of ewes in the national herd in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30463/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraEU Regulation 21/2004 requires all sheep flock keepers to complete a sheep census, at least annually, on a date determined by my Department. To date, all annual sheep censuses have been carried out in December. This information is collected and collated on the Department's Animal Identification Movement system (AIM).
The number of ewes in the national herd is recorded as part of this census, where a ewe is described as a ‘breeding ewe over 12 months of age on the date of the census’. Ewe lambs are recorded under the category of other sheep. The 2018 census will be conducted on 31 December 2018, when an inventory of all sheep kept on registered holdings will be undertaken.
The number of breeding ewes recorded in the Annual Sheep Censuses 2010 – 2017 are provided in the following table:
Number of Breeding Ewes
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
2,200,526 |
2,335,881 |
2,473,871 |
2,458,600 |
2,420,374 |
2,503,011 |
2,640,048 |
2,646,078 |
715. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of live cattle exports in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30464/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am keenly aware of the vital role that live exports play in stimulating price competition and providing an alternative market outlet for farmers.
Live exports will continue to play a part in informing the third country destinations selected for trade negotiations and missions in 2018 as it did in 2017.
I am pleased that live cattle exports are continuing to flourish in 2018. Exports of live cattle in the first half of this year came to nearly 170,000 head, an increase of 22% compared to the same period last year. The largest export market during this period was Spain with 62,372 head of cattle, followed by Netherlands with 45,854 and Italy with 15,343, a significant increase compared to 2016. Exports to Great Britain increased slightly to 3,100 head from January to June 2018, while this period saw a decrease in exports to Northern Ireland (8,600 head). The largest third country export market during this period was Turkey with 7,948 head of cattle, with cattle also exported to Libya, Tunisia and Morocco.
In February 2017, I reduced the veterinary inspection fee payable on live exports of calves under three months of age to €1.20 per animal, to bring greater equity in fees payable per consignment in respect of calves, weanlings and adult cattle. The first half of 2018 saw exports of 138,000 calves, an increase of over 40% compared to the same period for 2017.
The prospects for live cattle exports remain very good. Irish exporters have a good track record in recent years in securing contracts for the export of fattening and breeding animals to Turkey and there is continued strong interest from Turkish buyers. Demand for livestock in North Africa and the Middle East is influenced by the political environment and our relative cost competitiveness.
Animal welfare during transport is a key concern, and inspections by my Department ensure that rigorous and robust animal welfare standards are strictly complied with during transport of live cattle.
|
Year |
Live Cattle Exports |
|
2010 |
338,966 |
|
2011 |
214,502 |
|
2012 |
160,407 |
|
2013 |
208,884 |
|
2014 |
236,833 |
|
2015 |
178,048 |
|
2016 |
145,235 |
|
2017 |
188,344 |
|
Q1 to Q2 2018 |
169,706 |
716. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of fallen cattle recorded in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30465/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe following table below provides details of On Farm Deaths in each of the years 2010 to 2017 and for the period January to April 2018. The data was extracted from the Department's Animal Identification and Movement Database (AIM).
|
On Farm Bovine Deaths |
|
|
Year |
Number of Bovine Animals |
|
2010 |
244,132 |
|
2011 |
215,828 |
|
2012 |
247,740 |
|
2013 |
290,057 |
|
2014 |
235,228 |
|
2015 |
241,020 |
|
2016 |
275,655 |
|
2017 |
262,864 |
|
January to April 2018 |
156,877 |
