Written Answers Nos. 442-457
442. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision on an appeal by a person (details supplied) will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31349/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Agriculture Appeals Office has confirmed that the appeal for the named person (details supplied) was decided in January 2016 by the Appeals Officer assigned to the case. This decision was notified to the appellant at that time. A review of the Appeals Officer's decision was requested by the appellant and is currently in progress. It is expected that a letter will issue to the appellant shortly advising him of the outcome of the review.
443. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if inspectors have visited fur farms to inspect the welfare of mink in view of their semi-aquatic nature and the recent hot weather; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31383/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals under the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations, 2010(Statutory Instrument No 311/2010) and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Irish fur farmers are subject to the same animal welfare legislation as any other livestock farmer.
There was an unannounced inspection carried out this summer on one of the three Irish mink farms and no welfare issues were raised. My Department will continue to carry out inspections both planned and unplanned on the facilities in question.
444. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the prohibition of fur farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31384/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals under the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations, 2010(Statutory Instrument No 311/2010) and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Irish fur farmers are, in this regard, subject to the same animal welfare legislation as other livestock farmers.
A review of all aspects of fur farming in Ireland was commissioned in November 2011. The Terms of Reference of the Review Group were:
(i) To review fur farming in Ireland taking into account existing legislative provisions for the licensing of mink farming;
(ii) To comment on the economic benefits of the sector;
(iii) To consider the effectiveness of existing welfare controls, and
(iv) To make appropriate recommendations
The Review Group invited submissions from the public and interested parties and considered over four hundred submissions which were received.
The Group concluded that it did not find the arguments in favour of banning the farming of fur animals in Ireland compelling and recommended that instead, fur farming be allowed continue under licence and subject to official control. I accept the findings of the review group and its recommendations.
On foot of the Review Group’s deliberations, my Department introduced more rigorous controls on licence holders in the areas of animal welfare, animal accommodation, security and nutrient management. Licensees are subject to regular inspections, including unannounced inspections by Department officials.
445. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 494 of 30 January 2018 and 1000 of 12 June 2018, if his attention has been drawn to the fact that farmed mink do not have access to bathing water and that as semi-aquatic mammals mink require access to water to regulate their body temperatures in warm weather; if he will arrange for veterinary inspections to be carried out in mink farms to assess and ensure the health of the animals during the recent unprecedented warm weather; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31387/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals under the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations, 2010(Statutory Instrument No 311/2010) and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Irish fur farmers are subject to the same animal welfare legislation as any other livestock farmer.
There has been an unannounced inspection carried out this summer on one of the three Irish mink farms and no issues were raised. My Department will continue to carry out inspections both planned and unplanned on the facilities in question as appropriate.
446. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to improve the legislative framework for animal welfare and to ensure better enforcement of existing legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31391/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe legal framework for animal welfare is provided by the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. This is a modern Act and is the main legal instrument available to my Department to enforce animal welfare standards. The basic rule may be summarised by stating that persons having possession or control of an animal have responsibility for the care and welfare of that animal; it is this person’s duty to take all necessary steps to protect the animal from unnecessary suffering and neglect, and not to be reckless regarding the animal’s welfare. There is a specific requirement to ensure that an animal has access to an adequate supply of wholesome food and water.
The Act is enforced by authorised officers of my Department based at regional offices around the country, members of an Garda Síochána, officers of Customs and Excise and authorised officers of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In addition, the Chief Executive of a local authority may appoint officers of the local authority to be authorised officers within the administrative area of the authority.
The main powers of enforcement under the Act are contained in section 38 which provides for extensive powers of inspection and investigation, including in appropriate circumstances, seizure and detention of animals. Section 42 provides for a system of legally binding notices, the breach of which constitutes a criminal offence.
The Act provides for a range of penalties that may be imposed. On summary conviction, an offender may be fined up to €5,000 (a Class A fine) and/or be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of up to 6 months. On conviction on indictment, a fine of up to €250,000 and or a term of 5 years imprisonment may be imposed. The Court may also, in particular circumstances disqualify a person from owning, keeping, having charge or control (directly or indirectly) of an animal, or being involved with activities relating to animals for a period, including, where appropriate, for the life of the person. The determination of any particular case is, of course, a matter for the trial court. There have been 50 prosecutions to date with a further 28 ongoing.
In summary, the current modern legislative framework provided by the Act is considered fit for purpose. Similarly enforcement of the existing legislation has been working satisfactorily, and is kept under review with a view to ongoing improvements as needed.
447. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS, sheep fencing grants reclaimed by his Department in cases in which the farmer did not remain in sheep farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31436/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is a requirement of the TAMS grant aid Scheme for sheep fencing that applicants must own and possess a yearly average of 40 adult sheep (weaned lamb or older) at time of application or at the latest by the date the claim is submitted for payment. This is checked at payment stage and no payment issues in respect of the investment if the criterion is not met.
Applicants must maintain a sheep enterprise for at least five years from the date of payment of grant aid. This is checked as part of the ex-post checks required by EU Regulations.
To date, there have been no reclaims of grant in respect of sheep fencing investments reported as part of this recheck.
448. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS, dairy equipment grants reclaimed by his Department in cases in which the farmer did not stay in dairy farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31437/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is a requirement of the TAMS II Schemes that the applicants are required to use the investment for their intended purposes for a minimum of 5 years from the date of issue of the final payment in respect of the investments grant-aided. This is checked as part of the ex-post checks required by EU Regulations.
To date, there have been no reclaims of grant in respect of dairy equipment investments reported as part of this check.
449. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he will take to ensure that veterinary inspectors visit mink farms to ensure that the conditions in which the animals are being kept have been adequately adapted or improved to take account of the heatwave; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31452/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals under the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations, 2010(Statutory Instrument No 311/2010) and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Irish fur farmers are subject to the same animal welfare legislation as any other livestock farmer.
There has been an unannounced inspection carried out this summer on one of the three Irish mink farms and no issues were raised. My Department will continue to carry out inspections both planned and unplanned on the facilities in question.
450. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a basic payment scheme, BPS, payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31453/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named submitted an application under the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and Area of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme on 15 May 2017.
As the person named does not have any entitlements under the BPS, no payment falls due under that scheme for 2017.
In relation to the ANC application, further to the receipt and processing of information sought in relation to commonage lands under the scheme, payment will issue to the nominated bank account of the person named in the coming days.
451. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the changes he has made to allow access by persons to their own data held by his Department and bodies under its aegis following the introduction of GDPR; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31463/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraData Protection legislation places an obligation on all organisations that hold personal identifiable data, to provide access to that information should the individual concerned seek access to same. My Department, through its various support measures in the agri-food sector, processes significant amounts of personal data in respect of its clients.
The right to access personal information held by organisations is outlined under Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation EU 679/2016, which came into effect on 25 May 2018. Previous Data Protection legislation (namely the 1988 and 2003 Acts) also provided for access by the individual to any personal information held by an organisation.
As this right to access was already in place in my Department, the introduction of GDPR did not require large scale amendments to the processing of Subject Access Requests (SARs) received from an individual.
Subject Access Requests received by bodies under the aegis of my Department are operational matters for the bodies concerned.
452. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the staffing complement and resources of his Department's data protection officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31487/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraA Data Protection Officer was appointed by my Department in advance of and in accordance with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation EU 679/2016.
The Data Protection Officer is leading the Data Management Division of the Department and also has other related work responsibilities within the wider remit of data management, including inter alia, the ISO 27001:2013 Information Security standard and Electronic Records Management.
The Data Protection Unit has a complement of 5 staff, directly reporting to the Data Protection Officer.
453. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the data protection impact assessments his Department has commenced since 15 May 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31504/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraArticle 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires that Data Protection Impact Assessments (also known as privacy impact assessments) be undertaken in processing activities which are likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals.
Prior to undertaking such processing activities, the controller (the Department) is required to carry out an assessment of the impact of such processing on the protection of the personal data.
Since the introduction of GDPR on 25 May this year, the Data Protection Unit is considering three such Data Protection Impact Assessments.
454. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Coillte will be mandated to develop fire breaks around residential properties; if Coillte is cleaning up fly-tipping that is occurring on its property on a timely basis (details supplied); if there is a clear line of responsibility over the person or body that pays the cost of the fire fighting that takes place on Coillte land; if these issues above lead to a delay in the start of efforts in the tackle of a recent blaze; and the cost to date of the fire service response to the fire at the bog. [31526/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraCoillte was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as the management of its forest estate, are the responsibility of the company.
The matter was, however, raised with Coillte who advise that the company has a fire plan for each of its forest properties which includes the creation of fire breaks in strategic locations carefully designed to restrict the spread of fires through their woodlands. Coillte advise that it has a team of fully trained and dedicated staff ready to combat forest fires at all times. Coillte add that, in relation to costs of fire-fighting where fire-fighting activity occurs on Coillte lands, the company engage fully with the local Fire Services in relation to any costs that may arise and that, in all cases, Coillte fully cover all appropriate expense arising.
Coillte further advised, in relation to the forest fire at Kildalkey, Co. Meath, the company has been managing the situation since the fire was reported and has had a presence on the ground in the form of forest managers in both active fire-fighting and response co-ordination. I also understand that a helicopter has also been contracted by Coillte on a number of days this week to attend the fire. Coillte advise that there was absolutely no delays in the start of efforts to tackle the forest fire at that location, adding that the company’s local forest manager was monitoring the site and, upon becoming aware of the fire at Kildalkey, he immediately contacted the Coillte helicopter and fire-fighting team to start the fire-fighting efforts at this site. I am advised that Frayne Bog extends beyond Coillte Property.
Coillte add, as regards the cost to date of the Fire Service response, that, as the current Condition Red Forest Fire Danger Rating remains in place, the company cannot say with confidence that there will not be another outbreak of fire at Kildalkey forest and so cannot comment on the costs to date as fire-fighting measures remain on stand-by.
Coillte advise, in relation to the fly tipping at its forest property in Kildalkey County Meath, that it has been actively engaged in the resolution of the litter issue at the said location and has corresponded on a regular basis with Meath County Council. The company add that, as the amount of litter on site is excessive, it has taken a substantial amount of time to plan these litter removal works, including tendering and the procurement of contractors to carry out the physical litter removal works. I understand that Coillte recently arranged for a skip to be delivered to site and is working with Meath County Council to form a collaborative approach to removing the litter.
455. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address concerns for the welfare of mink that are caged in fur farms in view of the recent weather; if he will arrange for veterinary inspectors to visit these farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31538/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals under the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulations, 2010(Statutory Instrument No 311/2010) and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Irish fur farmers are subject to the same animal welfare legislation as any other livestock farmer.
There has been an unannounced inspection carried out this summer on one of the three Irish mink farms and no issues were raised. My Department will continue to carry out inspections both planned and unplanned on the facilities in question.
456. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if meat production will be increased here in view of concerns regarding the conditions of live animal exports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31539/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMeat production can be tracked according to the volume of animals slaughtered. Figures on animals slaughtered in Department approved meat plants indicate that production increased in all categories in 2017 compared to 2016.
In 2017, 1,739,601 cattle were slaughtered in Department-approved meat plants, an increase of 7.5% on the previous year. For 2018 year to date, the number of cattle slaughtered is up 2.3% on the same period last year.
The cumulative sheep slaughtering figure for 2017 was 2,948,493 head for the end of 2017 in comparison to a figure of 2,671,405 for 2016 which represents an increase of 10% for the same period. There is only a very slight increase in slaughtering year to date.
Approximately 3.292m pigs were slaughtered in export-approved plants during 2017. This equates to an increase of approximately 1.2% compared to 2016. For 2018 year to date, the number of pigs slaughtered is up 2.3% on the same period last year.
One of my Department’s priorities, in line with market development theme of Foodwise 2025, is to further increase the market opportunity for Irish food and drink internationally, especially for the meat sector. The Market Access unit is continuing to make progress on a wide range of market access issues across the beef and sheepmeat sectors, and also the pigmeat and poultry sectors.
Animal welfare is obviously a key concern for any live export trade, and inspections by my Department ensure that rigorous and robust animal welfare standards are strictly complied with during transport of live animals.
457. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the extensive consultations with farmers and a company (details supplied) carried out regarding the bovine viral diarrhoea, BVD, programme; his views on the fact that a small percentage of farmers were contacted and consulted; and the details of the €75 million benefit to the farming industry from the BVD programme. [31540/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraA national consultation to gather views on support for an industry-led national BVD eradication programme was launched by Animal Health Ireland (AHI) in December 2010. The results of the consultation process were collated in the spring of 2011 and indicated strong support for an industry-led national programme using tissue tags as the primary testing method. In 2011, a cross-industry Implementation Group was convened by AHI, meeting regularly (approximately monthly) since then. This draws members from across industry, including representatives from farming and veterinary organisations, breed societies, ICBF, Teagasc, processors and DAFM.
The BVD Implementation Group is the key decision making body for the programme, electing to initiate a voluntary programme in 2012 and, on the basis of the outcome of the voluntary programme, to move to a national programme supported by legislation in 2013. Over the course of the national programme, the prevalence of PI births has fallen from 0.66% in 2013 to 0.10% in 2017 and 0.05% in 2018 for the year to date.
A study carried out by the Scottish Agricultural College estimated that the annual losses to industry due to BVD prior to the programme were in the order of €102 million, while the average annual programme costs were in the order of €9 million. Considering the reduction in prevalence between 2013 and 2017, and accounting the average annual programme costs, this indicates net benefit to industry in 2017 of approximately €75 million.
