Written Answers Nos. 355-364
355. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a media report that states that the number of vaccines administered to persons over 60 exceeds the reported population size (details supplied); the steps his Department will take to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51977/21]
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.
356. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Health if he has considered any plans in relation to the introduction of legislation on surrogacy that would give legal status to parents whose child was born through the use of a surrogate; if these plans have considered retrospective parentage for parents who have currently been granted guardianship; if these plans have considered the need to extend parental leave and benefits to those parents whose child was born through the use of a surrogate; if these plans have considered the need to streamline this process and reduce the legal costs on parents whose child was born through the use of a surrogate in gaining their legal status as parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51333/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, drafting of a bill on assisted human reproduction (AHR) and associated areas of research is ongoing by Department of Health officials, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. This legislation encompasses the regulation for the first time of a wide range of practices undertaken in this jurisdiction, including domestic altruistic surrogacy.
The surrogacy provisions of the Bill outline the specific conditions under which surrogacy in Ireland will be permitted, including a requirement for all surrogacy agreements to be pre-authorised by the new AHR Regulatory Authority. The legislation also sets out a court-based mechanism through which the parentage of a child born through surrogacy may be transferred from the surrogate to the intending parent(s).
Publication of the AHR Bill is a priority for the Department and the Government, and a commitment to enact this legislation is included in the Programme for Government, “Our Shared Future”. This Department will continue to engage intensively with the Office of the Attorney General in order to finalise this complex legislation.
The question of whether provision should be made for the retrospective assignment of parentage in respect of children already born through surrogacy arrangements raises complex legal issues which will require detailed examination.
Responsibility for parental leave comes under the remit of the Minister of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and that Department has informed my officials that legislative changes in respect of all forms of family leave must be developed in the context of the legal situation concerning parentage, including in relation to surrogacy. My officials have also been informed that some forms of family leave may currently be available to commissioning parents, including parental leave and parent’s leave. However, any further queries relating to such leave should be directed to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
Finally, as Minister for Health, I have no role in the matter of the level of legal costs which may be incurred in relation to the undertaking of an individual surrogacy agreement or any court applications arising from such an arrangement.
357. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of agricultural sustainability advisers employed under the Agricultural Sustainability Support Advisory Programme; the number of farms availing of support under this programme; the number of farms in identified priority areas of action participating in this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51850/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Agricultural Support & Advisory Programme (ASSAP) is an innovative Government/ industry initiative running from 2018 to 2021 and involves a well-structured collaborative initiative involving all stakeholders, including the wider community, to facilitate improvements in water quality. The ASSAP involves a resource of 31 Agricultural Sustainability Advisors, 20 of whom are funded by Government and 11 by the Dairy Industry.
There were 190 Priority Areas for Action (PAA) identified by the EPA and 41,126 herdowners were identified as located in the PAA’s.
The most recent data available is as at 31 December 2020, and there were 1,810 farmers availing of the support of ASSAP advisors. In addition, ASSAP has held 136 community meeting, 107 farmer meetings and 222 discussion groups to further engage with the farming community.
358. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it is intended to update the Fishery Harbours Acts to include the development of facilities to support the on-shore and off-shore renewable energy sector as one of the strategic aims when considering investment in these harbours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51964/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Fishery Harbour Centres Act dates back to 1968 but has been amended on a number of occasions since its introduction.
Section 5 of the Act provides the scope of use for which the Fishery Harbour Centres can be put to. Originally the scope was quite narrowly defined and linked almost exclusively to the fishing industry. In 1998 the Fisheries and Foreshore (Amendment) Act expanded that scope to include the following provision:
"any other purpose, including the provision, improvement and development of leisure or amenity facilities or for facilitating or promoting the social or economic development of the area in which the fishery harbour centre is located, which the Minister considers advantageous and appropriate in respect of the operation or development of the Fishery Harbour Centre".
Accordingly, the nature of any proposed developments at the Fishery Harbour Centres must be balanced in the full context of section 5 and typically appropriate studies are commissioned to assist in these considerations. Any decisions on strategic investment at the Fishery Harbour Centres are made having regard to prevailing Government policy, competing national priorities and available Exchequer funding.
359. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the basis on which his Department may grant permission for the use of hand sanitiser with an expired PCS number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51807/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraBiocidal products, including hand sanitisers may only be marketed and used in Ireland once they are registered with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and are entered on the “Product Register” in accordance with Regulation 20 of Statutory Instrument (S.I.) 427 of 2013.
In accordance with Regulation 19 of S.I. 427 of 2013 when a biocidal product is removed from the product register, a period of grace may be granted, where appropriate, to allow for disposal, making available on the market and use of existing stocks.
The grace periods which are permitted after a product is removed from the product register are typically 180 days for making available on the market and a further 185 days for use of existing stocks.
360. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers has considered the Joint Research Centre report on the farm to fork strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51812/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo date, the Joint Research Centre technical report on the modelling of environmental and climate ambition in the agricultural sector with the CAPRI model has not been specifically considered by Agricultural Ministers at Agri-Fish Council.
However, the technical report was discussed by the Special Committee on Agriculture at their meeting on 20 September 2021.
While the report contains many valuable insights, it is important that these are built on further. I consider it essential that further work should be undertaken, and completed as a matter of urgency.
I have consistently sought a comprehensive impact assessment on the Farm to Fork Strategy, and I welcome the acknowledgement in the technical report of the necessity for such a comprehensive impact assessment with regard to a legislative framework for sustainable food systems.
I also welcome the clear acknowledgement in the report of the scale of the challenge faced by the agricultural sector, and while I agree that the new CAP will strongly support environmental and climate action, we must acknowledge that the CAP cannot do everything.
A key concern is that environmental gains will be accompanied by a decline in production and further impacts on incomes, and I believe that this issue needs further assessment given the vital role of farming in maintaining vibrant rural areas.
Of particular concern to Ireland is the confirmation that environmental gains by the EU will leak out to other world regions.
This is of huge concern, and we will need to work collaboratively with international partners if we are to achieve our global ambition.
361. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider grant aiding under TAMS the installation of PV panels on agricultural buildings similar to grant aid presently available for solar panels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51813/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraSolar energy for on-farm use is grant aided under the Animal Welfare Nutrient Storage and Safety Scheme, Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme, the Organic Capital Investment Scheme and the Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme measures under TAMS.
The solar PV systems grant aided under TAMS includes Solar PV Panels and Solar PV Rechargeable Batteries and Solar Panels for water heating under the Pigs and Poultry scheme. Some 44,780 applications have been approved under the TAMS scheme to date, including 172 applications for solar investments to date.
Full details of all investment items are available on the Department's website.
362. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of approvals per licence and scheme type the Forestry Service will deliver during 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51872/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra363. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated number of applications per licence and scheme type the Forestry Service anticipates receiving during 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51874/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 362 and 363 together.
All forestry licences and schemes are voluntary therefore, it is not possible to exactly predict the level of applications that are likely to be received each year. The applications received for the last three full years and to end-September, 2021 are indicated in the table below, for each of the three forestry licence types.
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 to end Sept |
|
Afforestation |
1,074 |
1,005 |
851 |
417 |
|
Tree Felling |
5,969 |
330 |
1,762 |
2,762 |
|
Forest Roads |
728 |
693 |
666 |
532 |
|
Total |
7,771 |
2,028 |
3,279 |
3,711 |
To date this year, we have issued just under 3,000 licences and we expect to issue 4,000 by end-year. We would expect to exceed this years target of 4,000 licences in 2022. A more detailed projection will be finalised towards year end.
364. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the anticipated recruitment of foresters or ecologists for 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51889/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra365. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated total expenditure anticipated to run the Forestry Service for 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51890/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 364 and 365 together.
My Department has invested heavily in staff resources over the course of the last two years. There are currently 151 staff comprising a combination of forestry inspectors, ecologists, archaeologists, and administrative personnel.
Within Forestry Inspectorate Division permanent and temporary personnel numbers have moved from 40 (38 Inspectors, two ecologists) in early 2020 to 61 today (52 Inspectors and nine Ecologists). In addition, the number of Contract full time equivalent (FTE) ecologists has steadily grown from none two years ago to 18 today. In total there are now 27 full-time equivalent ecologists working on licensing files, nine within the Inspectorate division and the rest on external contracts.
In the last few days the Department completed a competition for the provision of up to three contract engineers to assist with Forest road licence applications. We are keeping resource requirements under continuous review and will continue to recruit as necessary.
The Department has forestry personnel deployed to buildings all over the country, often shared with other Department personnel or indeed personnel from other Departments.
In terms of budget allocation for Forestry-related schemes for 2022, I am pleased to report that this year’s Budget delivered strong support for Forestry with the allocation of over €100m for 2022. This excludes staffing and associated costs. I will revert to the Deputy with that information.
