Written Answers Nos. 170-190
173. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the contents of the health sector national staff survey 2018 carried out by a company (details supplied) in relation to the national Ambulance Service have yet to be released to all staff; and if his attention has been further drawn to the content of the survey. [10139/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this concerns the release of results to HSE staff, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.
174. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the number of persons diagnosed annually with conditions (details supplied); the cost of treatment for each condition; the average cost per person; the number of persons with each condition in the past five years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10141/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
175. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health his plans to develop a smart phone app on which all the locations of defibrillators would be readily available in an emergency (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10142/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
176. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the number of emergency doctors working in Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan in a permanent position and as locums, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10148/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
177. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if the HSE will be directed to act to resolve or otherwise reach a settlement with a person (details supplied) in view of the nature of the current situation the person finds themselves in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10151/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy's question refers to legal proceedings between the HSE and the individual concerned it would be inappropriate for me to intervene. I have forwarded the question to the HSE asking them to reply directly to you. However, I understand that the HSE is currently engaging actively with Ms Canning's legal representatives in an effort to bring this matter to a conclusion. The HSE is conscious, given Ms Canning's health, of the need to bring this matter to a resolution in a timely manner.
178. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Health the expenditure by the new national children’s hospital on public relations and public affairs consultants in each of the years 2014 to 2018 and to date in 2019; and the fees paid to individual companies providing such services in the same period in tabular form. [10161/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has statutory responsibility for planning, designing, building and equipping the new children's hospital and outpatient and urgent care centresI have asked the NPHDB to respond to you directly.
179. 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. [10184/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
180. 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. [10185/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
181. 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. [10186/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.
182. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications received under the Brexit loan scheme; the number of approved and rejected applications; the number and value of loans provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10074/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe €300 million Brexit Loan Scheme was developed by my Department in cooperation with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, the Department of Finance and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) to provide working capital support to enable eligible Irish businesses (SMEs and small mid-caps) to implement the necessary changes to address the challenges posed by Brexit. Given its significant exposure to the UK market, at least 40% of the fund is available to food businesses. The Scheme opened for applications on 28 March 2018 and it will remain open until 31st March 2020.
It provides for loans of €25,000 to €1,500,000 per eligible enterprise at a maximum interest rate of 4%, ranging from 1 year to 3 years, with unsecured loans up to €500,000. The loans can be used for future working capital requirements or to fund innovation, change or adaptation of the business to mitigate the impact of Brexit.
Applications for eligibility assessment must be made to the SBCI who, on approval, assign an eligibility reference number. This reference number along with the loan application may then be provided to a participating lender.
At 22 February, there were 462 eligibility applications received, of which 413 are approved and 10 are ineligible. The total number of loans progressed to sanction at bank level is 81 with a total value of €17.3m, 13 of which relate to food businesses with a value of €4.2m.
183. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a BPS payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10085/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn official from my Department has made direct contact with both the person named and his agricultural consultant.
The consultant has been informed as to what is required to successfully resolve this issue.
184. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the microchipping of dogs; if the legislation in this regard is being enforced; and the number of warnings or summonses issued in this regard. [10086/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraMicrochipping of dogs regulations were made under the Animal Health & Welfare Act, 2013 and therefore can be enforced by any authorised officer under that Act. This includes officers of my Department, An Gardaí Siochana, dog wardens, members of the local authority veterinary service, Customs agents and officers of the ISPCA and DSPCA. As a result there is no centralised reporting or record keeping of enforcement action taken. Evidence available points to a high level of compliance with microchipping of dogs within the country.
Enforcement efforts to date under the Act have generally focused on cases which have come to the attention of authorised officers where there is neglect or recklessness regarding animal health and welfare of animals and incidence of animal cruelty.
A further effective approach in terms of microchipping enforcement has been to focus on occasions and locations where dogs are being exported - as evidenced by the on-going spot checks conducted at Dublin Port.
185. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the guidelines and legislation on the crossbreeding of dogs. [10087/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are no statutory rules relating to cross breeding of dogs.
The normal rules, enshrined in the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, relating to not causing unnecessary suffering to, and not being negligent or reckless regarding the welfare of, an animal apply to this, as to every other activity relating to an animal.
186. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a matter will be addressed regarding the movement of calves (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10124/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraA Quality Payment System (QPS) introducing differentiated payments in respect of certain grades of cattle at slaughter plants was introduced in 2009 by agreement between Meat Industry Ireland (MII) and the Irish Farmers Association (IFA).
My understanding is that any additional bonus payments and the conditions attached to qualification for such bonus payments are determined by processors and their retail customers. Such conditions include a limit on the number of movements of cattle in their lifetime prior to slaughter. These are commercial arrangements and my Department has no role in their establishment.
187. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a 2018 area of natural constraint payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10159/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application under the 2018 Basic Payments Scheme (BPS) and Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme was received from the person named on 14 May 2018.
Under the Terms and Conditions of the 2018 ANC, eligible applicants are required to meet a minimum stocking density of 0.15 livestock units for a retention period of 7 months and to maintain an annual average of 0.15 livestock units calculated over the twelve months of the scheme year. In the case of new entrants, who do not receive their herd number in sufficient time to meet these requirements, the stocking density is calculated on a pro rata basis by reference to the start date of the herd number up to and including 31 December 2018. In such circumstances the applicant must meet the required minimum stocking density within 10 days of receipt of their herd number.
My Department's records show that the person named received her herd number on 18 June 2018 but did not meet the required minimum stocking density until 12 July 2018. On this basis she is deemed to have failed to fulfil the scheme compliance criteria and cannot be paid.
The person named has been notified of this decision in writing and advised of her right to seek a review of the decision within 90 days to the Agriculture Appeals Office.
188. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has discussed with the French authorities the need to increase lairage facilities at Cherbourg; if he has had discussions with a company (details supplied) about scheduling of sailings in view of delays in the export of calves; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10169/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department acknowledge the value and importance of live exports to Ireland’s agribusiness and I am aware of the challenges within the live export trade, particularly that of capacity in lairages in France. Calves being exported must, for welfare reasons, be off-loaded, fed and rested for 12 hours on arrival in France. The current lairages in the Cherbourg region have capacity for some 4,000 calves on any one day.
My Department visited Cherbourg in the Autumn and met with their French counterparts to discuss this matter. More recently, they provided briefing to the IFA before its delegation visited the lairage near the port of Cherbourg recently.
My Department officials are in on-going communication with the Irish exporters with regard to the need for co-operation to ensure that the lairage capacity at Cherbourg is optimised. Industry has been advised to make contact with their business partners in France to explore options around the increase of this capacity.
My Department offers regulatory assistance and approval to commercial providers of transport that is required for accessing important export markets. There is on-going communication with the various operators but the choices of routes and frequency of operation remain within the remit of the commercial providers.
189. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has had discussions with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Phil Hogan, and the EU Commissioner for Trade, Ms Cecilia Malmström, on the need to have an immediate EU-wide response to support the beef sector and farm incomes following the comments of the British Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Mr. Michael Gove, MP, on the imposition of tariffs on Irish products and the likely import of beef from South America and other markets in the event of a no-deal Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10170/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra190. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has had discussions with the EU Commissioners for Agriculture and Rural Development and Trade to put in place supports for the agri-food sector in the event of a no-deal Brexit; if there are plans to put such supports in place without delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10171/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 189 and 190 together.
I and my officials have been working very hard for quite some time to sensitise other Member States and the European Commission to the potentially very severe impacts of Brexit on the Irish agri-food and in particular the beef sector, and to the likelihood of specific supports being required in order to deal with these impacts. The institutions of the European Union are very well aware of the likelihood of a significant impact of a disorderly Brexit on Ireland’s economy because this has been part of the discussion from the beginning, and indeed this is explicitly recognised in the Commission’s own communication on contingency planning.
Most recently, I held a bilateral meeting with Commissioner Hogan at the end of January to discuss the potential impact of a disorderly Brexit on the Irish agri-food sector, and on the beef sector in particular. We discussed the unique exposure of the sector to the threat of a disorderly Brexit, and the challenges that it could present. I stressed the need to be ready to deploy a range of measures to mitigate the potential impacts on farmers and the food industry, including through traditional market supports such as intervention and Aids to Private Storage (APS), through exceptional aid under the CAP's Single Common Market Organisation regulation, and through increased flexibility under State Aid regulations. Commissioner Hogan reiterated the EU’s readiness to respond and support Ireland and we will remain in contact on these issues as the situation evolves.
Since then officials of my Department have had meetings with Commission officials to examine potential options in more detail and these contacts are ongoing.
