Written Answers Nos. 833-852
833. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Health if his Department has plans to add folic acid to flour and bread products in the interest of public health in view of emerging evidence from the United Kingdom (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46779/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Health has received a Folic Acid Supplementation Report prepared by the Department’s Folic Acid Policy Committee which was established to help the Department’s policy considerations on the matter.
While the Committee’s report found that there is considerable evidence in support of the introduction of mandatory fortification of foodstuffs with folic acid, it also recognised that this would be a significant undertaking in terms of resources and timing. In addition, there was an acknowledgement that the implications of Brexit would need to be worked through before further consideration could be given to mandatory food fortification.
834. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the number of unused or underused HSE-owned buildings by county in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46814/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the management of the public healthcare property estate, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to you in relation to this matter.
835. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health his views on the long-term leasing of suitable premises by the HSE to an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46815/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
836. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the areas in which the unfilled consultant positions in Mullingar Regional Hospital exist; and the action that has been taken to fill these roles. [46822/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
837. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Health the hospitals or centres of care per county which have been assessed as having asbestos in the buildings; and the actions that have been taken to ensure the health and safety of employees and former employees to assess the health impact that asbestos had. [46823/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Health Service Executive is responsible for the management of the public healthcare property estate, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to you in relation to this matter.
838. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the Department responsible in relation to a matter (details supplied); and the steps he will take to ensure the matter is brought to a suitable solution. [46257/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am aware of the very unfortunate situation to which the Deputy refers. Having spoken with the individual concerned, I understand that this arose from his purchase of an unstable fishing vessel in the Netherlands in 2007, essentially a private commercial transaction between two contracting parties to purchase a vessel. The responsibility for ensuring the authenticity of the details, specifications and stability of the vessel being purchased rested with the purchaser.
The core issue here relates to the safety and safety certification of the vessel purchased. The safety of fishing vessels and safety certification, including matters relating to stability, is the responsibility of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has no function in relation to the safety certification of Fishing vessels or matters arising in relation to their stability.
My Department’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Programme is the principal source of development funding for our seafood sector. The Programme is implemented under the provisions of the EMFF Regulation (508/2014) which specifies to what purposes funds can be granted. There is no particular provision of the EMFF Regulation that would facilitate an ex-gratia payment to assist in the case raised by the Deputy. Furthermore, it is not possible to provide a grant for the decommissioning of the vessel concerned, as under the terms of the EMFF Regulation, decommissioning is not permitted after 31 December 2018. A new European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) Regulation (2021/1139) for the 2021- 27 period was enacted in July 2021 and my Department is preparing a new corresponding Seafood Development Programme, which should be in operation next year. However, similar to the EMFF Regulation, the new EMFAF only permits decommissioning of fishing vessels for very specific purposes concerned with addressing an identified imbalance in a particular fleet segment and only allows decommissioning of active fishing vessels and so is unlikely to be relevant to the case identified by the Deputy.
839. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45959/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named applied for the 2021 Basic Payment and Areas of Natural Constraints scheme on 1st May 2021.
All necessary up-dates to the area claimed by the person named under these scheme have been completed by the Department and the advance payment under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme has now been processed. Payment will be lodged to the nominated bank account of the person named shortly.
Advance payments under the Basic Payment Scheme are due to commence issuing from 18th October.
840. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will provide the €3 million urgently required by Donegal County Council to upgrade the pier at Rathmullan, County Donegal. [46001/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraRathmullan Pier is owned by Donegal County Council and responsibility for its maintenance and development rests with that Local Authority in the first instance and its parent Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage thereafter.
The Department provides funding to assist the coastal Local Authorities, including Donegal County Council, in carrying out small scale projects for the development and repair of Local Authority owned piers, harbours and slipways under the annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, subject to available Exchequer funding and overall national priorities.
Between the years 2010-2020, Donegal County Council has received funding of €3.8m under this programme, with €31,000 received for projects at Rathmullan Pier that included projects relating to visitor moorings, safety measures and repairs from storm damage.
In May, I was pleased to announce a 35% increase in the funding being made available to Local Authorities from the 2021 Programme, with Donegal County Council securing funding of €637,500 to undertake 12 projects in total (nine Harbour Development and three Marine Leisure & Tourism). Further information on this year's Programme is available online at www.gov.ie/en/press-release/db402-minister-mcconalogue-announces-383-million-in-funding-for-capital-projects-at-irelands-six-fishery-harbour-centres-including-an-enhanced-scheme-for-79-local-authority-harbours-the-2021-programme-sees-a-35-increase-in-funding-for-local-authority-harbours/
No application for funding in relation to Rathmullan Pier was received under this year’s programme. Should any application be submitted by Donegal County Council in relation to Rathmullan Pier under any future programme, it will be given due consideration, taking into account the terms and conditions of the scheme, the priority attached by the Council and available Exchequer funding.
841. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the new sea survival centre at the National Fisheries School, Greencastle, County Donegal; and when this will be delivered. [46002/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that I approved proceeding with BIM’s proposal for commencement of the new sea survival centre project at BIM National Fisheries College, Greencastle, County Donegal and funding has been provided in 2021.
In relation to the delivery of the project, BIM has advised as follows;
The new sea survival infrastructure at the BIM National Fisheries School, Greencastle, County Donegal project is currently in the procurement stage for design services for the building of the facility. As part of this design brief, research has been undertaken looking at other, similar international sea survival facilities pools. BIM is consulting with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to ensure that the facility will be built in line with energy efficient design principals, to ensure a modern, sustainable and environmentally friendly facility and SEAI will continue to work with BIM throughout the process. Procurement is underway for the navigation simulator and marine radio training suite which are due to be installed in December 2021. It is planned that the pool installation will commence in February 2022 and that the facility will be in service by June 2022.
842. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the consideration his Department has given to encouraging the integration of the beef and dairy sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46040/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is important that livestock farmers have as many options as possible to improve their viability, with this in mind, I am very conscious of the importance of developing closer integration of the beef and dairy systems and my Department have engaged in a number of initiatives to support this. In Budget 2021, provision was made for the introduction of a dairy beef pilot programme. The objective of the pilot programme which was launched in April 2021, is to both build on the gains of previous BEEP schemes in terms of weight/performance recording, and to facilitate further integration of the dairy and beef systems, by providing support for farmers who are rearing progeny from the dairy herd.
Another initiative aimed at creating greater integration between the beef and dairy systems is the development of the Dairy Beef Index (DBI). This was developed by ICBF to promote high quality beef cattle bred from the dairy herd, while maintaining optimal dairy traits. As the data set underpinning this index increases, so does the reliability and usefulness of the index to farmers as a decision making tool and as a mechanism to provide greater integration between dairy and beef systems. With the development of the ICBF’s Dairy Beef Index, data from ICBF show that genetic trends for beef traits have improved for beef sires, reassuring farmers that these beef-dairy calves have improved beef potential.
A support for a dairy beef calf welfare has been proposed as part of the development of Ireland's CAP strategic plan (CSP). A public consultation on the draft interventions proposed for the CSP has recently ended and the submissions received are being reviewed. I will continue to consult on the content of the plan with the key stakeholders, through the CAP Consultative Committee and through additional public consultation later in the year.
I can assure the deputy that my Department and I are committed to supporting the enhanced integration of the dairy and beef sectors.
This approach is reflected in 'Food Vision 2030', the stakeholder-led strategy for the sustainable development of the sector over the next decade. Food Vision includes the following action under a Goal aimed at improving the competitiveness and productivity of primary producers:
Mission 2, Goal 1, Action 1:
'promote greater integration of the dairy and beef sectors, especially in relation to the production of beef coming from the dairy sector'.
843. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) will be compensated for confiscated livestock. [46057/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn animal welfare grounds, seizure notices issued to the person in question by the Department's veterinary inspectorate pursuant to Article 37 of SI 311 European Communities (Welfare of farmed animals) Regulations 2010.
In accordance with Article 36 of the Regulation, the animals were seized with the intention of selling, disposing of, destroying or arranging for the sale, disposal or destruction of the animals. This has been undertaken.
The balance due to the person in question, minus the costs of same has been finalised and payment issued to the person in question last week.
844. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider amending the Forestry Act 2014 in order that the definition of forestry is changed from 0.10ha to 0.50ha to allow landowners to plant small parcels of land without administrative restrictions and without having to seek Ministerial approval via the licensing application process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46095/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is currently examining options to increase the level of small scale planting of individual and groups of trees in the proposed agri-environment measures under the new CAP Strategic Plan. This may require a legislative change to the Forestry Act 2014 which currently provides that a licence is required for all tree planting above the 0.1 ha. threshold.
Any changes considered will have to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place and will be targeted specifically at the planting of native trees for biodiversity reasons.
On the basis of recommendations from the Project Woodland Working Groups, the Department has also commissioned a review of the forestry licensing process which may provide for areas where the existing legislation can be revised and streamlined. This work will take place over the next few months and will influence the future of the licensing process also.
845. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason farmers (details supplied) are being penalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46111/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn order to qualify for payment under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), farmers must have an eligible hectare of land in respect of each entitlement held.
Where land has been burned between the period of 1st March and 31st August of any given year, it is not eligible for payment under the BPS. This is clearly stated in the terms and conditions of the scheme.
Where such land is claimed under a BPS application it is considered an overclaim and, as such, a penalty/reduction may apply. In each case where a penalty/reduction applies, the applicant has a right of review and appeal.
The applicant is advised of this right of appeal and the relevant steps to take to seek a review. Each case is examined on its merits and any information supplied by the applicant will be taken into consideration during this review.
846. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a new entrant farmer who has been approved for TAMS for a milking parlour can extend the expiry date on the drawdown given that they have not yet secured a contract with any dairy supplier; if they can draw down without such a contract being put in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46115/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe granting of extensions under TAMS is provided for in the terms and conditions of the scheme which is published on the Department's website.
Applicants with a 12-month approval have the option of applying for a six months extension. The extension will only be granted for structures and fixed investments where work has commenced. The application for an extension must be lodged together with documentary evidence to the online system between the start of the eighth month and before the end of the eleventh month following the original date of approval to join the scheme.
Payments cannot issue until the approved works have been completed and a payment claim is submitted by or on behalf of the approved applicant to the online system.
The suite of seven measures available under TAMS II have been open for applications on a rolling tranche-by-tranche basis. The closing date for Tranche 23 is 5th November 2021 with Tranche 24 opening on 6th November.
It is open to every farmer who has an expired approval to make another application.
847. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of inspections carried out by inspectors from his Department on horticultural businesses by functional area in each of the past five years in tabular form. [46116/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is involved in a range of inspections on horticultural businesses required by specific legislation, to facilitate trade and for verification of compliance with Schemes.
These include:
1. Food Safety Inspections necessitated by Regulation (EU) 2017/625 (Official Controls Regulation and carried out under S.I. 22 of 2020 (Food & Feed Hygiene regulations 2020).
2. Inspections to facilitate growers’ payments under Article 25 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/891 DAFM verify Producer Organisations’ Operational Programmes in part through on the spot checks of PO members’ farms.
3. Inspections to verify investments under the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector.
4. Inspections of Horticulture producers of regulated plants and plans products are required under the provisions of the EU Plant health Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 and the Official Controls Regulation (EU) 2017/625.
5. Finally, inspection of Horticulture Business are required to facilitate the export certification process and ensure compliance with the Phytosanitary requirements of the Third Country.
Numbers of inspections in each of the past five years are set out in the following table.
|
Year |
Food Safety Horticulture Primary producers |
Horticulture Grant Aid & Producer Organisations |
Plant Health Official controls |
Export Certification Inspections |
Total |
|
2020 |
157 |
159 |
474 |
78 |
868 |
|
2019 |
154 |
155 |
289 |
73 |
671 |
|
2018 |
109 |
154 |
280 |
98 |
641 |
|
2017 |
178 |
157 |
353 |
101 |
789 |
|
2016 |
107 |
141 |
330 |
115 |
693 |
848. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on a forestry application by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46118/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraA decision has not been made on an application for an afforestation licence and the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme for the person named. In the absence of the necessary environmental documentation submitted by the forester, such as a pre-screening report, etc. it will not be possible for the Department to process the file.
849. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will make available the terms of reference of the review by his Department of the review of the 2011 and 2017 EIA Regulations (Agriculture); the timescale of this review; and if it is being conducted internally or by an external entity. [46141/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe terms of reference for the review of the EIA (Agriculture) regulations have yet to be decided, but it is anticipated to be a comprehensive evaluation of these regulations.
The review will be conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with an expected public consultation phase being carried out at a later stage. The timeline involved will be determined once the terms of reference have been established.
850. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 761 of 15 September 2021, if tenders for the courses and training provided were issued; if so, the persons who responded; the criteria by which the course provider was ultimately chosen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46203/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraNo tenders were issued for these particular training courses which provided a specific development opportunity for senior staff in the Department, as the courses in question facilitated a blend of senior managers from both the private and public sectors.
The Department was not required to publish a public advertisement for purchases of this value under the National Public Procurement guidelines.
The Department's Learning and Development function would have reviewed the market at the time to ensure that the training sought was relevant and provided value for money for the taxpayer.
851. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of and position regarding the forestry licensing log-jam; the number of licences which have been granted; the number which are left to process; the length of time it is estimated it will take to clear the queue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46320/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that certain High Court decisions have changed the processing of forestry licence applications, resulting in approx. 80% of applications being screened in for a comprehensive ecological assessment, a situation for which the Department was not prepared.
In addition, the number of appeals increased from 21 in 2017 to a peak of 582 in 2020. This combination of events led to a backlog of licence applications. I am very aware of the obligations my Department has towards applicants, but also to ensure that systems and processes are compliant with legal framework.
In respect of licensing, resources have been significantly increased; ecologists have gone from one in 2018 to 27 currently and 21 additional forestry inspectors have been deployed. The number of licences issued had increased through May and into early July. However, there was a significant fall off in licences issued in July and August, due to a new legal requirement for an additional 30-day public consultation.
Applications in the system, received before 11th January this year when the Forestry Licence Viewer (FLV) was introduced, had to be manually examined and redacted of personal information before the documents were published in the FLV for the second public consultation.
As the introduction of this SI resulted in a reduction in the number of licences issued in June and July, it is unlikely that our target of 4,500 will be met this year and it will be closer to 4,000.
I must note, however that licensing outputs have increased over the past three weeks, with 110 licences issued weekending 3rd September, 136 the following week and 146 weekending 17th.
The Department is currently examining every afforestation application in the system and has deployed 10 ecologists to deal specifically with afforestation. I would encourage those with a valid afforestation licence to proceed with planting and I am advised there is 5,700ha with approval to plant.
The Department will shortly announce the successful bidder for the recent tendering process to engage external expertise to carry out an end-to-end regulatory and process review, which has been sought by the Project Woodland working groups.
This is in addition to the systems analyst already in place. In the meantime, the Department is working with forestry companies to improve the quality of information provided with licence applications. This has already yielded results for felling licences.
The same exercise has been completed for forest roads and will shortly be carried out on afforestation licence applications. I expect that licensing output will continue apace for the remainder of the year.
852. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of licences that have been issued for non-commercial, amenity tree planting under section 22 of the Forestry Act 2014. [46357/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department has two schemes to support the planting of non-commercial trees – the NeighbourWood and the Creation of Woodland on Public Lands Schemes (CWPL).
The CWPL was introduced earlier this year and aims to encourage public bodies to establish new native woodlands on suitable bare land. Bodies eligible for the Scheme are government departments and State sponsored organisations, Higher Education Authorities, and local authorities. The Scheme has four grant elements, two for planting and two for recreational facilities such as trails and signage and forest playgrounds. There is also a small grant for derelict site clearance. Since the Scheme opened this year, nine applications have been received, which are currently being processed.
NeighbourWood is a long-standing scheme that provides financial assistance to create woodland amenities for local people. Funding is available to help establish woodland on greenfield sites and to support the development of existing sites. NeighbourWoods can be used by the community for strolling, family visits and picnics, exercising and a host of other outdoor activities.
The scheme is available to both public and private landowners who work in partnership with local communities. Since 2016, 12 sites have received grant funding under the NeighbourWood Scheme.
