Written Answers Nos. 704-714
704. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide additional financial supports under the rare breed preservation grant for the Droimeann breed and other breeds with a recently established breeding programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60536/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Droimeann Cattle Society was recognised by my Department as a Breed Society and approved to maintain a breeding programme for the breed in 2018. Considerable support was given, by officials from my Department, to the Society over a number of years in order for it to obtain this recognition and to design it’s breeding programme.
I acknowledge the effort that the Society has put in over many years in conserving the breed.
In October 2019, the Droimeann breed was recognised by my Department as a native rare breed.
Agri Environmental Schemes have been used as a vehicle to provide supports to native rare breeds over many years . GLAS is the current Agri-Environmental Scheme operated by my Department and includes measures to bring about conservation and preservation of rare breeds. The process is on-going to finalise the detail of the new Agri-environmental Scheme starting in 2023.
705. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether there is potential for his Department to provide educational training or supports to those involved in or seeking to enter heliciculture; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60559/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraHeliciculture, more commonly known as snail farming, is a niche farming concept.
Climatic conditions in Ireland are suitable for year-round snail breeding and Bord Bia conducted research in 2018 which showed the strong export market potential for snails, particularly in Europe. Snails intended for human consumption are defined in EU food regulations as terrestrial gastropods.
Farmers interested in snail farming may wish to refer to the helpful guidance document on snail farming produced by Teagasc which is available on its website. Furthermore, advisory support for those looking to diversify their enterprise is available through the Teagasc ‘Options for Farm Families Programme’ and interested farmers should contact their local Teagasc office, details of which are available on their website. Teagasc recommends that potential snail farmers visit a commercial snail farm and get involved in a course prior to investing any resources.
To register as a snail farmer producing snails for live sale only, or if there is already a herd number for the holding in respect of other farming activities, and the addition of snail farming activities at the holding is required, a completed ER1 application form should be submitted to the Regional Veterinary Office (RVO).
All food intended for human consumption must meet the requirements of EU food law. Snail farmers who intend to process snails for human consumption must in addition to being registered as a snail farmer with their local Department Regional Veterinary Office must also be approved to operate as a food business operator with the Department’s Meat Hygiene Division. Any person producing food is regarded as a ‘Food Business Operator’.
To date there are no Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine approved food business operators processing snails for human consumption in Ireland. Any snail farmer interested in seeking approval to become a food business operator for the processing of snails for human consumption should complete a Notification of Intent application form, which is available on the Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/service/57f86-approval-of-activities-at-meat-processing-businesses/ and submit it to my Department's Meat Hygiene Division in Portlaoise.
The main purpose of food law is to ensure a safe food supply and to protect consumers’ interests in relation to food. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is responsible for enforcing food law in Ireland, and carries out this enforcement through service contracts with official agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
There are currently no schemes under the Rural Development Programme to support snail farming. However, snail farming may benefit from wider supports such as the Enterprise Ireland's Innovation Voucher Scheme for which the Teagasc’ Food Research centres are Knowledge Providers . This scheme awards vouchers of €5,000 to small companies who have a business opportunity or problem. The voucher can be exchanged for advice and expertise. Further details can be found on their website.
For scheme supports under our Rural Development Programme, these generally include eligibility requirements such as being the holder of an active herd number with herdowner status and also having all lands farmed declared in the applicant's name on my Department’s Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS). These requirements are expected to be applied in the next CAP.
If a person farming snails has eligible hectares and a herd number, they can submit an application for the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) which does not differentiate between types of farms.
706. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her plans to put measures in place to support the refurbishment of vacant property in rural areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60472/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe revitalisation of vacant properties is being addressed by a number of initiatives delivered by my Department in line with the commitments contained in Our Rural Future and as part of the Government's Housing for All
. In April, I announced investment of €81 million for 25 landmark projects under Category 1 of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. These projects will combat dereliction, increase the vibrancy of rural towns and villages and regenerate town centre buildings.
I have also announced funding of €15 million that is available under the 2021 Town & Village Renewal Scheme. A key focus of this year’s scheme is to renovate derelict and vacant buildings in our town centres, including for residential living. I have increased the maximum grant available under the Scheme to €500,000 to permit projects of additional scale to be funded. I expect to announce the successful projects shortly.
The new Croí Cónaithe (Towns) fund, as outlined in Housing for All , will also provide a grant to support the refurbishment of vacant properties where the level of vacancy or dereliction is high. I understand that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, together with the Housing Agency, is currently developing an operational basis for this new fund.
There are a range of other initiatives outlined in Our Rural Future which will contribute to addressing vacancy in our towns and villages, including the development of a Town Centre First Policy.
The new Town Centre First Policy is currently being developed and will be an important catalyst for Local Authorities and local stakeholders to plan for the revitalisation of their towns, and particularly to explore new and alternative uses for vacant and derelict properties in town centres.
707. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the proposed works for the Mell Greenway, Drogheda for which Louth County Council received €200,000 through the outdoor recreational scheme in February 2020; if the new resubmitted plans have been approved; and if there are timelines for a commencement of the project. [59770/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra708. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the Mell Greenway, Drogheda; if she has received the project implementation plan for the amendment of the approved works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59845/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 707 and 708 together.
The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme provides funding for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure and for the maintenance and promotion of existing infrastructure. Louth County Council were approved funding of €200,000 under the Scheme for the development and enhancement of the Boyne Greenway.
Earlier this year, Louth County Council requested permission to revise the scope of the approved works. This amendment was approved by my Department subject to a Project Implementation Plan being submitted. To date, no plan has been submitted.
My Department has afforded every opportunity to Louth County Council to revise the project scope and put all the necessary permissions in place. I have asked my officials to contact Louth County Council again in order to clarify their plans in relation to this project.
709. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of protected disclosures made to her concerning her Department and bodies under its aegis in 2018, 2019 and 2020. [59918/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm that my Department has not received any protected disclosures since its establishment in 2017. The agencies under the remit of my Department are independent legal entities responsible for managing their own corporate affairs in compliance with their statutory obligations.
710. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the level of funding to be provided by her Department in 2022 for the promotion and support of the social enterprise sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59943/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraSocial enterprises are businesses that work primarily to improve the lives of people. Their core objective is to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact.
Like any other business, they pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis. However, surpluses generated are re-invested into achieving their core social objectives.
My Department has responsibility for implementation of the National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland 2019-2022, which is helping to create an enabling environment for social enterprise to grow and contribute to social and economic progress. The Policy is focused on three main objectives: 1. Building Awareness of Social Enterprise; 2. Growing and Strengthening Social Enterprise and 3. Achieving Better Policy Alignment.
Under Objective 2 (Growing and Strengthening Social Enterprise) my Department continues to support social enterprises in a number of different ways including through the annual €2.3m Dormant Accounts funded Social Enterprise Measure. This year the measure supported 247 social enterprises through the recently announced €1m Social Enterprise Capital Grants Scheme, and the €680k Awareness Raising Initiative for Social Enterprise (ARISE) which supported 50 projects.
I also recently announced €400k funding for a pilot Start-up Scheme for Social Enterprise which supported 25 early stage social enterprises. Earlier in the year I provided an additional €160k funding to the Covid-19 Social Enterprise Regeneration Programme which is providing training and mentoring in strategic planning and income diversification. I will make further announcements under the Dormant Accounts Fund Social Enterprise Measure in 2022 in line with policy commitments.
My Department also provides significant supports to social enterprise through a number of other programmes including the Community Services Programme (CSP), Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP) and LEADER. Social Enterprises had full access to the Innovate Together Fund and the COVID-19 Stability Fund which were also available to the wider community and voluntary sector.
Apart from funding, my Department also supports the development of social enterprises in other important ways such as providing training and mentoring in procurement, increasing awareness of social enterprise, cross Government and international engagement, supporting higher level research and providing guidance into issues such as legal forms for social enterprise.
711. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the level of support provided to hubs, such as those that are part of the Connected Hubs initiative since the start of 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60008/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department operates a number of schemes that focus on projects supporting the development of remote working hubs as outlined in Our Rural Future– Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025.
To date, over €83m has been provided by my Department through various funding streams to support the development of digital hubs and remote working facilities across Ireland. The figure since the start of 2020 is some €31m.
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme both support the establishment of digital hubs. Under this year's schemes, projects that bring vacant properties in town centres back into use as remote working hubs or repurpose community of publicly owned buildings as hubs were eligible for funding.
Earlier this year I also awarded almost €9 million in funding through the Connected Hubs funding stream to more than 100 successful applicants from across the country.
My Department also supports the development of the Connected Hubs Network - www.connectedhubs.ie. The National network offers a suite of booking and hub management applications to its members. The Network will also facilitate the sharing of innovation, experience and best practices across the community. There are currently 170 hubs live on the platform, with this number growing every week.
Support provided by my Department will serve to maximise benefit to member hubs, hub clients, employers, local communities and the wider economy. The development of a national hubs network is a key commitment in Our Rural Future and I am committed to continuing my Department's support for the strategic development of remote working hubs in recognition of the vital role that they can play in our post-Covid recovery.
713. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the work she has undertaken to increase the pace of the roll-out of local improvement scheme; if she has had discussions with each local authority on the matter; if so, when these discussions took place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60242/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of 'Our Rural Future', the Government is committed to ensuring that the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) is funded into the future. This reflects the important contribution which the scheme makes to connectivity in rural Ireland. The LIS supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities and represents a vital piece of infrastructure for rural communities.
The scheme has been funded by my Department since 2017 and is administered by Local Authorities. Prior to 2017, the scheme was not funded for a number of years. Since the scheme was reintroduced in 2017, over 3,060 roads have been improved, with 660 of those funded this year. The total number of landowners and households along those roads who have benefited under the scheme since 2017 is now in excess of 13,300 with over 3,000 of those seeing improvements on their non public roads and lanes in 2021.
I launched the 2021 Scheme on 14th May with a budget of €10.5 million. I was very pleased to source additional funding for the Scheme during the year and to allocate a further round of funding on 29th July to bring the total level of funding to €21 million this year. Officials in my Department engaged with each of the Local Authorities to ascertain each authorities capacity to deliver additional projects in view of the increased allocation available.
I was pleased to be in a position to again announce an increase in the funding for LIS from €10.5 million to €11 million as part of Budget 2022 and my officials will be in contact with local authorities in preparation for next year's scheme.
714. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the grants and funding available under the community section of her Department; if consideration has been given to increasing supports considering community and voluntary organisations cannot currently fundraise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60561/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government are aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and are committed to working closely with the sector in managing through these, recognising that it will require a whole of Government approach. To that end, Government and my Department introduced a number of supports to assist sectors in dealing with the impact of COVID-19 and social restrictions necessary in the interests of public health.
In 2020, a €50 million support package for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Charities and Social Enterprises was launched by Government and administered by my Department. This funding was made available from the Dormant Accounts Fund and consisted of the COVID-19 Stability Fund and the Innovate Together Fund.
Through the COVID-19 Stability Fund my Department supported close to 600 organisations to continue to deliver vital services to the most vulnerable in our communities in 2020 and into 2021. A further allocation of €10m was provided to the Stability Fund for 2021 as part of the revised Resilience and Recovery Plan announced on Tuesday 23rd February by the Taoiseach.
The COVID-19 Stability Fund 2021 was similarly targeted at organisations which deliver critical services to vulnerable people within their community but which faced closure or a loss of service due to the impact of the pandemic. 244 organisations were supported under the 2021 Stability Fund. All allocations are published on the Gov.ie website, available here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/3957e-covid-19-stability-fund-successful-applicants/. The Fund is now closed and there are no plans to reopen it.
The Innovate Together Fund was launched in May 2020 and was administered by Rethink Ireland and consisted of a €5 million commitment from my Department's Dormant Accounts Funds and €0.6 from philanthropic donations. The purpose of the fund was to assist organisations working with vulnerable people and communities by fostering innovative and adaptive solutions to both existing and emerging social challenges presented by the current pandemic. 71 projects received cash grants of between €20,000 and €200,000 as well as non-financial business supports including physical and mental health supports, online education, community outreach, sustainability, food security and reskilling the workforce.
My Department currently supports over 420 community organisations under the Community Services Programme (CSP) to provide local services through a social enterprise model. My Department recently announced a further extension of €1m to the CSP Support Fund to cover the period up to December 2021, bringing the total funding allocated to the CSP Support Fund to €8.95m for 2020-2021. This funding was provided to CSP supported organisations who required additional assistance to continue to retain their CSP supported employees on their payroll, provided assistance for the Employers PRSI contribution and supported organisations considered by my Department to be most in need to cover overhead costs such as insurance, light, heat and Audit fees.
The Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) provides funding to community groups and organisations across Ireland, with a focus on areas of disadvantage. Funding is provided to each Local Authority area, and the programme is administered by the Local Community Development Committees (LCDC) on the basis of local need. The 2021 CEP was launched in May with an allocation of €4.5m. The key theme was to support groups as they reopen facilities which were closed due to COVID-19. The €4.5m fund is now closed, however on the 11th November I was pleased to launch a new fund for community and voluntary organisations called the Community Activities Fund .
The new, €9m Community Activities Fund is being provided by the Government to support community and voluntary groups impacted by COVID-19. This once-off funding will be allocated under the Department’s Community Enhancement Programme and in order to ensure there is sufficient flexibility to allow funding to be targeted to where it is needed in each Local Authority area, it will be administered locally by the Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs).
The Community Activities Fund will support groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with their running costs such as utility (Electricity, Heating charges) or insurance bills, as well as with improvements to their facilities. Groups will also be able to use the funding to carry out necessary repairs and to purchase equipment such as tables and chairs, tools and signage, laptops and printers, lawnmowers, canopies and training equipment.
In general, I would encourage all organisations to continue to engage with their Local Authority and Local Development Company, and to check on the Gov.ie website in order to be aware of funding opportunities as they become available.
