Tuesday, 22 Oct 2019

Written Answers Nos. 465-489

Exports Data

Ceisteanna (465)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

465. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of animals exported to Northern Ireland by month from January 2018 to date in October 2019. [43451/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The following tables show the breakdown of cattle exported to Northern Ireland from January 2018 to October 2019 on a month-by-month basis in tabular form and categorised by breeding, production and slaughter.

This data was extracted from the TRACES system. 

2018	Breeding	Production	Slaughter	Total
January	513	346	317	1,176
February	452	496	209	1,157
March	457	927	273	1,657
April	600	899	268	1,767
May	848	1,262	100	2,210
June	384	619	205	1,208
July	397	534	216	1,147
August	313	373	454	1,140
September	959	1,102	1,553	3,614
October	931	1,649	1,414	3,994
November	781	1,545	1,275	3,601
December	478	680	1,004	2,162
Total	7,113	10,432	7,288	24,833

2019	Breeding	Production	Slaughter	Total
January	369	640	1,756	2,765
February	698	753	680	2,131
March	934	1453	550	2,937
April	911	2018	1,241	4,170
May	928	1788	777	3,493
June	337	1143	367	1,847
July	144	567	1,358	2,069
August	269	598	1,052	1,919
September	435	576	1,364	2,375
October	371	689	1,038	2,098
Total (YTD)	5,396	10,225	10,183	25,804

Exports Data

Ceisteanna (466)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

466. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of animals exported to Northern Ireland by month from January 2018 to October 2019 on a month by month basis in tabular form; the number that went to a farm; and the number that went to a processing plant. [43452/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The following tables show the breakdown of cattle exported to Northern Ireland from January 2018 to October 2019 on a month-by-month basis in tabular form and categorised by breeding, production and slaughter.

 This data was extracted from the TRACES system. 

2018	Breeding	Production	Slaughter	Total
January	513	346	317	1,176
February	452	496	209	1,157
March	457	927	273	1,657
April	600	899	268	1,767
May	848	1,262	100	2,210
June	384	619	205	1,208
July	397	534	216	1,147
August	313	373	454	1,140
September	959	1,102	1,553	3,614
October	931	1,649	1,414	3,994
November	781	1,545	1,275	3,601
December	478	680	1,004	2,162
Total	7113	10,432	7288	24,833

2019	Breeding	Production	Slaughter	Total
January	369	640	1,756	2,765
February	698	753	680	2,131
March	934	1,453	550	2,937
April	911	2,018	1,241	4,170
May	928	1,788	777	3,493
June	337	1,143	367	1,847
July	144	567	1,358	2,069
August	269	598	1,052	1,919
September	435	576	1,364	2,375
October	371	689	1,038	2,098
Total (YTD)	5,396	10,225	10,183	25,804

Beef Industry

Ceisteanna (467, 468, 469)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

467. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Teagasc has completed the in-depth review of the grid with a view to broadening of the in-spec bonus criteria to increase the number of eligible animals including the review of the hot and cold weighing system by Teagasc. [43454/19]

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

468. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an in-depth review of market and customer criteria in relation to the four in-spec bonus criteria has commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43455/19]

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

469. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Bord Bia has furnished his office with a paper outlining the potential development of a beef market price index model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43456/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

I propose to take Questions Nos. 467 to 469, inclusive, together.

The commitments entered into by my Department and Agencies on foot of the 15th September beef agreement, including the development of a beef market price index model, are being progressed.

The Beef Taskforce’s remit is to monitor the implementation of the actions arising from the agreement reached on 15 September and it offers the most viable platform for strategic engagement with key stakeholders. It is in the interests of everyone involved in the beef industry that the work of the Taskforce goes ahead. It was deeply regrettable that the meeting scheduled for 14 October was unable to proceed. However, the independent chair and my Department officials continues to engage proactively with Taskforce members with a view to progressing all of the actions in the Agreement.

EU Directives

Ceisteanna (470)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

470. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the consultation process with regard to the establishment of a working group between his Department and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation which was following on from the unfair trading practices directive has been launched; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43457/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The working group on transposition and enforcement of  Directive (EU) 2019/633 on Unfair Trading Practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain (UTP Directive) was set up in April this year and has met seven times to date.

I launched a public stakeholder consultation on the transposition of the UTP Directive on Friday 18 October last, with a closing date for submissions of 13 December 2019. The consultation document can be found on my Department's website at the following address: www.agriculture.gov.ie/customerservice/publicconsultations/.  

The launch of this public consultation fulfils one of my Department’s commitments under the Beef Sector Agreement of 15 September and I urge all interested groups and individuals to contribute to the public consultation.

Beef Industry

Ceisteanna (471)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

471. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an organisation (details supplied) has provided details of its insurance scheme and additional information; if he will provide a copy of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43458/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

As per the beef sector agreement of 15th September, the agreement in relation to Meat Industry Ireland's insurance scheme was that farmers can opt out of the insurance scheme for animals delivered to factories.

This was implemented immediately upon the entry into force of the agreement.

Animal Slaughtering Standards

Ceisteanna (472)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

472. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has commenced the introduction of the appeal system for carcass classification in manual grading factories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43459/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Following recent discussions between stakeholders and the beef industry on foot of farmer protests, my Department introduced an appeal system for carcass classification in manual grading factories. This appeal procedure was implemented from October 7th, 2019. In summary, if a supplier wishes to have a carcase classification appealed to my Department, the factory must firstly have the carcase reclassified by a second licensed factory grader. Following this reclassification by a second classifier, if the supplier still wishes that my Department adjudicate on the classification, he/she will inform the factory management who will make contact with the Department and make arrangements to facilitate a reclassification by a Department officer.

This system will be subject to review after 6 months in operation.

Animal Welfare

Ceisteanna (473)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

473. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the calf mortality rates by month, county and sector in each of the years 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019, in tabular form. [43460/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department does not have the information sought by the Deputy on calf mortality rates in the precise format requested. However, I am in a position to provide the 6 month mortality rates on a per county and sectoral basis for the calendar years 2016-2018 (inclusive) as detailed in the following Table.

Herds are categorised as a dairy where a milk supply contract is in place for that calendar year. All other herds are categorised as 'other farms'.

The herd six-month calf mortality rate was calculated as the number of deaths recorded in animals less than six months of age divided by the total number of births for each year in each herd. The Table presents the average herd six-month mortality rate for dairy and other herds per county for the years 2016 to 2018. The six-month mortality rates were estimated to be 5.3 to 6.0% for dairy herds between 2016 and 2018 while mean herd six-month calf mortality rates varied between 4.7% and 5.8% in other (non-dairy) herds. These rates are within the normal expected range.

	2018		2017		2016
County	Dairy Farms (16,797)	Other Farms (43,688)	Dairy Farms (17,086)	Other Farms (45,156)	Dairy Farms (17,289)	Other Farms (46,207)
Carlow	0.060	0.050	0.059	0.060	0.063	0.055
Cavan	0.058	0.048	0.056	0.058	0.061	0.052
Clare	0.049	0.046	0.041	0.049	0.045	0.046
Cork	0.059	0.050	0.055	0.059	0.063	0.053
Donegal	0.049	0.034	0.047	0.049	0.049	0.037
Dublin	0.055	0.053	0.066	0.055	0.047	0.044
Galway	0.066	0.042	0.055	0.066	0.066	0.046
Kerry	0.049	0.046	0.044	0.049	0.047	0.042
Kildare	0.072	0.059	0.072	0.072	0.072	0.047
Kilkenny	0.053	0.061	0.048	0.053	0.053	0.065
Laois	0.058	0.061	0.057	0.058	0.062	0.056
Leitrim	0.048	0.034	0.062	0.048	0.052	0.034
Limerick	0.057	0.061	0.053	0.057	0.060	0.066
Longford	0.050	0.047	0.046	0.050	0.057	0.049
Louth	0.081	0.062	0.070	0.081	0.074	0.060
Mayo	0.066	0.037	0.057	0.066	0.062	0.041
Meath	0.073	0.067	0.070	0.073	0.081	0.065
Monaghan	0.080	0.048	0.059	0.080	0.061	0.046
Offaly	0.065	0.066	0.064	0.065	0.075	0.069
Roscommon	0.057	0.044	0.046	0.057	0.069	0.049
Sligo	0.052	0.038	0.052	0.052	0.055	0.043
Tipperary	0.053	0.055	0.049	0.053	0.058	0.063
Waterford	0.055	0.061	0.050	0.055	0.058	0.054
Westmeath	0.068	0.054	0.053	0.068	0.066	0.057
Wexford	0.056	0.068	0.057	0.056	0.059	0.059
Wicklow	0.063	0.048	0.063	0.063	0.071	0.054
Total	0.058	0.047	0.053	0.058	0.060	0.049

Dairy Sector

Ceisteanna (474)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

474. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of dairy cows with no recorded births in each of the years 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019 but remain in lactation cycle for those years; the milk yield in litres of such dairy cows; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43461/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department does not hold records of milk yield in dairy cows. Furthermore, this Department does not hold records of the date of drying off of cows, and therefore is not in a position to say whether an animal is in lactation at a point in time.

Information relating to the birth records of dairy cows for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 to date is being collated from the Department's AIM system and will be provided to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Rural Development Programme Data

Ceisteanna (475)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

475. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the financial allocations on an annual basis under the 2014-2020 rural development programme, RDP, for schemes (details supplied); the annual amount expended on the listed schemes in each year since established up to 30 September 2019; the number of active participants in each scheme; and the number of approved applicants that subsequently withdrew from each scheme, in tabular form. [43470/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following tables:  

Table 1 – Allocations and Expenditure under certain RDP Schemes  

	Knowledge    Transfer    Scheme    €000	GLAS    €000	Beef Data    and    Genomics Programme    €000	TAMS II    €000	Sheep    Welfare Scheme    €000	Hen Harrier Programme    €000
Allocation 2015	0	20,000	35,000	0	0	0
Expenditure 2015	0	11,453	34,692	0	0	0
Allocation 2016	0	139,500	52,000	28,000	0	0
Expenditure 2016	0	102,615	61,800	3,971	0	0
Allocation 2017	22,821	228,500	49,000	49,832	17,000	2,940
Expenditure 2017	13,784	195,583	47,137	31,256	15,851	717,000
Allocation 2018	23,000	226,000	49,500	69,943	20,000	3,500
Expenditure 2018	21,665	231,978	47,451	66,751	17,650	1,154
Allocation 2019	25,000	203,000	46,500	70,000	18,000	3,115
Expenditure to Sept 2019	4,607	51,681	8,809	55,954	2,552	586

The 2020 allocations will be determined as part of the annual estimates process for 2020. 

 Table 2 – No. of participants and withdrawals      

	Knowledge    Transfer    Scheme	GLAS	Beef Data and Genomics Programme	TAMS II	Sheep Welfare    Scheme	Hen Harrier Programme
Number of   active participants	18,204	48,650	24,018	16,640	18,465 *	1,524
Number of   applicants that have withdrawn	1,498	3,415 **	7,781 **	656	1,507 *	1

* The figure for participants is for year 3 of the scheme. The figure for withdrawn cases reflects the number of cases withdrawn to-date from the three years of the scheme.

** Note the number of withdrawn/rejected can vary as some cases have been re-instated following an appeal.

Rural Development Programme Data

Ceisteanna (476)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

476. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the expenditure incurred in each of the years 2014 to 2018 and to 30 September 2019 for each measure under the Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020 (details supplied) in tabular form; the original budget allocations made for each year in the 2014 to 2020 period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43472/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following tables.

Table 1. DAFM Expenditure by Measure Level 2014 -2018 and to date 2019

	Expenditure 2014	Expenditure 2015	Expenditure 2016	Expenditure 2017	Expenditure 2018	Expenditure to date 2019
Measure 1 - Knowledge transfer and   information actions	48,881	9,667	8,668,524	19,531,480	29,136,302	4,967,370
Measure 2 - Advisory services, farm   management and farm relief services	0	0	288,053	643,996	283,657	228,779
Measure 4 - Investments in physical   assets	4,616,074	14,774,478	10,094,541	32,258,179	67,528,093	56,004,839
Measure 7 - Basic services and village   renewal in rural areas	0	0	725,488	752,358	835,685	22,653
Measure 10 - Agri-environment-climate	170,820,857	132,805,931	183,601,526	251,501,887	278,113,018	52,659,854
Measure 11 - Organic farming	0	1,844,024	5,145,977	6,530,788	9,811,311	2,572,310
Measure 12 - Natura 2000 and Water Framework   Directive payments	25,729,388	11,550,542	4,380,542	2,084,117	795,113	74,265
Measure 13 - Payments to areas facing   natural or other specific constraints	195,655,247	206,525,119	206,470,513	205,303,634	228,616,740	177,690,165
Measure 14 – Animal Welfare Scheme	0	0	0	15,850,949	17,649,626	1,275,983
Measure 16 - Co-operation	0	79,717	333,717	1,331,405	3,536,248	1,400,294
Measure 19 - Support for LEADER local   development
Measure 20 - Technical Assistance	0	65,182	902,151	1,383,207	1,361,368	926,035
M97 Early Retirement	0	0	4,248,250	2,430,121	808,357	166,270

 

Table 1 does not include information for Measure 19 - Support for LEADER local development as this is not operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.

Table 2. Financial Allocations for RDP 2014 – 2020 by Measure.

	Total Allocation 2014 - 2020
Measure 1 -   Knowledge transfer and information actions	125,800,000
Measure 2 -   Advisory services, farm management and farm relief services	8,300,000
Measure 4 -   Investments in physical assets	425,000,000
Measure 7 - Basic services and village renewal in rural areas	6,000,000
Measure 10 -   Agri-environment-climate	1,531,005,630
Measure 11 -   Organic farming	56,000,000
Measure 12 - Natura 2000 & Water Framework Directive payments	73,250,000
Measure 13 -   Payments to areas facing natural or other specific constraints	1,491,000,000
Measure 14 –   Animal Welfare Scheme	100,000,000
Measure 16 -   Co-operation	62,000,000
Measure 19 -   Support for LEADER local development	250,000,000
Measure 20 -   Technical Assistance	8,145,000
M97 Early   Retirement	9,207,547

While the RDP Regulation provides for a structure according to measures and sub-measures, the annual breakdown is made at aggregate level and is not formally subdivided down to measure/sub-measure level or scheme level. Essentially, any unspent EAFRD funds in a year are carried forward to subsequent years.

Teagasc Data

Ceisteanna (477)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

477. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the annual allocation made to Teagasc in 2018, 2019 and in budget 2020 towards research and knowledge transfer programmes on greenhouse gases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43481/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department provides Teagasc with an annual block Grant in Aid subvention to support its activities in providing research, training and advisory services to the agriculture and food sectors. The allocations for 2018 to 2020 are as follows:

Year	Allocation
2018	€132.5m
2019	€135.2m
2020	€136.7m

In addition to exchequer Grant Aid, Teagasc earn approximately €50m per annum in own resource income from fees earned from the provision of research, advisory and training services; income from national and EU research programmes and revenue from farming activities etc.

The allocation of specific funding from the Teagasc budget to the research, training and advisory services is an operational matter for Teagasc and its governing Board, the Teagasc Authority. Accordingly, I have therefore requested Teagasc to respond directly to the Deputy in relation to the amount of funding it allocated for the period in question to research and knowledge transfer programmes on greenhouse gases.

Beef Environmental Efficiency Scheme Data

Ceisteanna (478)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

478. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated first and full-year cost of returning a payment by amounts (details supplied) for a scheme based on the most recent participation figures at hand. [43482/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The €20 million funding available under the Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot allows for payment up to a maximum of €40 per calf, based on costs incurred and income foregone. As this exchequer funded scheme, operated under State Aid de minimis provisions, was based on costs incurred and income foregone, it is not possible to revise the payment amount.

A total of 19,135 farmers registered their interest in participating in the Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot(BEEP) and they will qualify for payment provided they comply with the requirements to weigh each cow and calf and provide the requisite data to ICBF in accordance with the Terms and Conditions.

Some 476,432 calves were registered to these 19,131 herds in the relevant period with a potential payment of €19,057,280 should all those calves be weighed.  With three weeks remaining, 286,974 of these have had their weights recorded under BEEP to date. Payments to participants who have completed the requirements under the Pilot are scheduled to commence shortly.

Sheep Welfare Scheme Data

Ceisteanna (479)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

479. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 2010 of 24 July 2018, the latest costings for the figures previously provided for this scheme based on the most recent participation figures at hand. [43483/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Sheep Welfare Scheme is part of Ireland's Rural Development Programme.  It should be noted that the rate paid per ewe is based on the cost incurred and the income forgone by the farmer in carrying out the actions chosen under the scheme, so that if the rate per ewe is to be increased, then the actions would have to be amended.  Any increase in the payment rate would require a formal amendment of Ireland's Rural Development Programme to change the costings and actions agreed under the Scheme.  Any such amendment would have to be approved by the EU Commission.

Based on the number of eligible ewes that have received payment in the 2018 scheme year to date, taking account of criteria set down under the programme, please see the following breakdown of expenditure for each category of increase.

Rate per ewe	Increase in funding required
10.5	€877,281
11	€1,754,561
11.5	€2,631,842
12	€3,509,122
12.5	€4,386,403
13	€5,263,683
13.5	€6,140,964
14	€7,018,244
14.5	€7,895,525
15	€8,772,805
15.5	€9,650,086
16	€10,527,366
16.5	€11,404,647
17	€12,281,927
17.5	€13,159,208
18	€14,036,488
18.5	€14,913,769
19	€15,791,049
19.5	€16,668,330
20	€17,545,610

Departmental Agencies Data

Ceisteanna (480)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

480. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proposed current and capital allocation to each agency under his remit following budget 2020; and the allocation made in his Department and in each agency under his remit towards hiring new staff. [43484/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The capital and current allocations for each agency will be set out in the 2020 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) which will be published later this year. 

The overall exchequer pay allocation for my Department and its agencies for 2020 is set out in the Expenditure Report as €280,280,000, an increase of 8% over the 2019 allocation.  This includes an allocation of €15,250,000 in respect of additional Brexit-related pay costs.

TB Eradication Scheme

Ceisteanna (481)

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

481. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43491/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Under the terms and conditions of the TB Compensation scheme, On Farm Market Valuation (OFMV) is the main process used to value reactor animals.  Full details of the process involved are provided to all herdowners experiencing a TB breakdown. Once an animal has been deemed a reactor for TB, the herdowner chooses an independent valuer to value the animal.

The person named had two separate valuations carried out on 26th April 2019 and 31st May 2019. On both occasions as per scheme guidelines, independent valuers from a national panel were selected by person named.  The valuations were conducted within the guidelines of the scheme, using the most current summary market prices along with the valuers own expertise to determine a value for each animal. The person named was given details of each valuation and accepted both valuations within the timeframes required. The person named did not appeal either valuation which is an option available to all herdowners, the process for which is also detailed in the guidelines booklet.  As a result, the valuation process has concluded and compensation for affected animals has now been completed.

I can confirm that non-valuation aspects of this matter are currently being reviewed by my Department. It is expected that this matter will be concluded in the near future and my Department will be in direct contact with the person named once a decision has been reached to inform them of the outcome of their case.

Bord na gCon Inspections

Ceisteanna (482)

Mick Barry

Ceist:

482. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a fully qualified veterinarian is present at each sports information services greyhound race at tracks here; if drug testing is performed on the racing greyhounds at these events; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43524/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Bord na gCon is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry.  Bord na gCon is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.  

Bord na gCon (BnG) has informed me that fully qualified, designated veterinary surgeons are required to attend every race meeting at every greyhound track licensed by BnG, of which there are 16 in the country.

Random sampling is overseen by BnG Control Stewards at each race meeting, with samples then sent to the National Greyhound Laboratory (accredited by INAB) for examination.  Over 4,100 such samples have been examined in the laboratory between January and September 2019.

National Raised Bog Management Plan

Ceisteanna (483)

Thomas Pringle

Ceist:

483. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the dedicated resources and expertise in relation to paludiculture available within his Department or State agencies under his remit; his plans to implement the recommendation regarding paludiculture research in chapter 8 of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action report; his views on the potential for paludiculture in the context of the new €5 million fund for wetlands restoration and rehabilitation as announced by Minister Bruton on 16 October 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43526/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department recognises wetlands and peat soils as an important carbon pool in the Irish landscape. Reducing emissions by water table manipulation has the potential to significantly reduce GHG emissions from these soils and is a means to positively contribute to our climate change mitigation ambitions. This is an important part of Agriculture's contribution to the emission reductions and is set out in the All of Government Climate Action Plan, released in June 2019, as highlighted in the targets set for the Agriculture, Forestry and Land-use sector.

The Climate Action Plan targets at least 40,000 hectares of carbon rich soils under agricultural management for reduced intensity management as part of our commitment. Future research into the potential of rewetted peatlands to retain and sequester carbon while remaining in productive use will be led by Teagasc with input from Bord na Mona.

Bord na Móna has already rehabilitated 15,000 hectares of peatland and is developing new plans that will involve the enhanced rehabilitation of a greater area of peatland by 2025. Bord na Mona has recently announced a €1.6 billion investment plan which includes an accelerated peatland rehabilitation programme and, while these activities will take place on non-agricultural soils, my Department will be eager to learn from the knowledge gained by Bord na Mona`s efforts in this area.

The recently announced €5 million fund for bog restoration and rehabilitation, through Budget 2020, is a matter for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and will support the NPWS to restore 1,800 hectares of bog in 7 counties, resulting in 28 million tonnes of carbon stored over the next 5 years.

Agrifood Sector

Ceisteanna (484)

Thomas Pringle

Ceist:

484. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the names of the 400 stakeholders and delegates invited to attend the open policy debate on a strategy for the agrifood sector to 2030 arranged for 16 October 2019. [43528/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Delegates to the Open Policy Debate on the agri-food strategy to 2030 came from a variety of sectors and organisations, including primary producers, food and drinks companies, representative organisations and associations of primary producers and food and drinks companies, artisan food producers, forestry stakeholders, research and academic institutions, State Agencies, Government Departments, non-governmental organisations, farm input providers,  banking and financial institutions, technology companies, retailers and various other stakeholders across the agriculture, food, forestry, marine and ancillary sectors.

In addition to invitees, registration was opened to the public from 4th October 2019.

For data protection purposes, the names of the stakeholders and delegates invited cannot be released.

Sheep Welfare Scheme Appeals

Ceisteanna (485)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

485. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a farm payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43568/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

An application for participation in Year 2 of the Sheep Welfare Scheme was received from the person named on the 23 January 2018.  In accordance with the scheme terms and conditions, the named individual was selected for an inspection and a penalty was applied following the outcome of the inspection.

An appeal on the findings of the inspection was received from the person named on the 22 August 2019.  This appeal has recently been finalised and a letter to the person named will issue in the coming days. 

Illegal Dumping

Ceisteanna (486)

John Deasy

Ceist:

486. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department has discussed the utilisation of drones or similar technologies by local authorities to counteract illegal dumping; and if funding has been or will be provided to councils for this purpose. [42960/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

In recognition of the impact of illegal dumping on communities across the country, my Department developed the Anti-Dumping Initiative to enable local authorities to identify high risk or problem areas, develop appropriate enforcement responses, including the use of drone technology, and carry out clean-up operations in conjunction with community organisations. My Department provided funding of €1.2 million and €1.8 million to the Anti-Dumping Initiative in 2017 and 2018 respectively and a further allocation of €3 million has been made available this year to support over 280 projects across the country, many of which have involved the purchase and utilisation of drone technology.

Details of this year’s allocations and the projects funded by the Anti-Dumping Initiative in both 2017 and 2018, including SMART enforcement initiatives utilising drones to target illegal dumping, can be accessed on my Department's website at the following link:

www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/environment/topics/waste/enforcement/anti-dumping-initiative/Pages/AntiDumpingInitiative.aspx.

National Broadband Plan Expenditure

Ceisteanna (487, 508, 511)

Timmy Dooley

Ceist:

487. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the estimated cost of the roll-out of the national broadband plan in each of the years 2020 to 2025, in tabular form. [43468/19]

Timmy Dooley

Ceist:

508. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the capital allocation for the National Broadband Plan in each of the years 2020 to 2025, in tabular form. [43469/19]

Timmy Dooley

Ceist:

511. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the estimated cost of the roll-out of the national broadband plan in years 1 to 5, in tabular form. [43541/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

I propose to take Questions Nos. 487, 508 and 511 together.

The Government has allocated €119m in the budget for the initial roll out of the National Broadband Plan State Intervention in 2020, which is at present pending contract award.

The multi-annual expenditure ceilings for Capital Expenditure for my Department are published in the Budget 2020 Expenditure Report. The total capital expenditure ceiling for my Department for 2021 is €517m and for 2022 is €611m. The detailed allocations required for the NBP for 2021 and for subsequent years of the NBP, to deliver high speed broadband to over 1.1 million people in the intervention area, will be settled in the context of the annual Estimates process.

Broadband Service Provision

Ceisteanna (488)

Robert Troy

Ceist:

488. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when a property (details supplied) will be connected to efibre broadband. [42925/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Every home, farm, school and business in Ireland will have access to high speed broadband – no matter where they are located – following the Government’s decision to approve the appointment of a Preferred Bidder to the National Broadband Plan. Under this plan, Ireland will become one of the first countries in the world to ensure that those in rural areas have the same digital opportunities as those in urban areas. The premises referenced by the Deputy is in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map, which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie.

The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led Intervention under the NBP.

The State intervention is the subject of the procurement process to engage a company to build, operate and maintain the NBP State intervention network.

Since the Government decision in May 2019 to appoint NBI as the Preferred Bidder for the National Broadband Plan contract, work has continued on the due diligence necessary to conclude the contract. This process is progressing towards contract award, which is expected before the end of the year. The network deployment will commence shortly after that.

The Bidder has indicated that the network rollout will take an estimated 7 years from the beginning of deployment. A deployment plan will be made available by the Bidder once the contract is signed.

In the first year of roll out, the Bidder will deploy approximately 300 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) across all counties. It is anticipated that between 7 and 23 BCPs will be deployed in each county. BCPs will provide a community based high speed broadband service, enhancing online participation and allowing for the establishment of digital work hubs in these locations.

The Bidder is aiming to pass 133,000 premises by the end of the second year, with 70-100,000 passed each year thereafter until roll out is completed.

In parallel to the work of finalising the contract, I am considering the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Communications Committee report, which was published recently. I will bring my deliberations of the report to Government in due course.

My Department has also recently undertaken a mapping consultation to ensure that the State Intervention Area is up to date and reflects operators’ plans and the responses from householders and businesses with the outcome of this consultation informing the State Aid notification to the European Commission in relation to the NBP.

Superannuation Schemes

Ceisteanna (489)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

489. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will address a matter raised in correspondence from a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42929/19]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Under section 20 of the An Post Main Superannuation Scheme, such issues are a matter for determination by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. In that context, the matter in question has previously been referred by my officials to that Department for consideration.