Written Answers Nos. 589-605
589. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health the reason that a scheduled procedure for a person (details supplied) was cancelled at short notice; if his attention has been drawn to impact that this has had on the person's physical and mental health; when the person will receive the necessary procedure; if he will provide the details of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56665/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
590. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he will confirm that agency roles working within the HSE include contract workers such as cleaners and security officers, in respect of the pandemic special recognition payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56713/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFirstly, I would like to thank all healthcare workers for their extraordinary efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government announced a COVID-19 pandemic recognition payment for certain front-line public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic.
Certain non-HSE/Section 38 healthcare employees are also covered by the Government Decision. These include eligible staff in:
1. Private Sector Nursing Homes and Hospices (e.g. Private, Voluntary, Section 39 etc.);
2. Eligible staff working on-site in Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities;
3. Agency roles working in the HSE;
4. Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help/home care/home support) contracted to the HSE;
5. I can confirm that, subject to meeting all of the eligibility criteria, those eligible staff working in contractor roles in the above front-line settings are in scope for the payment.
The HSE and KOSI Corporation are currently progressing the rollout to eligible staff in cohorts 1-4 above. Information on the process involved has now been provided by the HSE and KOSI to relevant organisations, and I am happy that payments are already rolling out to employers to pay their eligible staff.
591. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Health if it is possible for moneys to be refunded following the death of the applicant if it is discovered that social welfare non-contributory pension payments had been overpaid over a number of years which had resulted in a higher amount under the financial assessment carried out under the fair deal scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56717/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS), commonly referred to as 'Fair Deal', is a system of financial support for people who require long-term residential care. The primary legislation underpinning the NHSS is the Nursing Home Support Scheme Act 2009. Participants contribute to the cost of their care according to their means, while the State pays the balance of the cost. Under the rules of the scheme, 80% of a person’s income (including pensions) and 7.5% per annum of the value of their assets is contributed towards the cost of their care.
The Department understands from the HSE that there are a small number of cases in which the HSE has received claims from the Estates of deceased clients previously supported by Fair Deal for a recoupment of client contribution, on the basis of a review and subsequent determination by DEASP that a non-contributory pension was incorrectly claimed in part or whole. The issue arises because the HSE establishes the level of client contribution based on the information and evidence provided by applicants on the Fair Deal application form, including details of DEASP allowance. If NHSS-funded residents over-claim DEASP allowance this can result in a situation where their NHSS contributions are higher than they would be if they claimed the correct amount (typically 80% of the amount over-claimed). The Department understands that the DEASP routinely reviews payments when an individual has passed away; where an over-payment has been made by the DEASP, the overpaid amount is recouped by the DEASP from the individual’s Estate. In certain cases, the Estates of deceased NHSS-funded clients have contacted the HSE to seek a re-calculation of the client contribution based on the fact that the Estate has had to make a repayment of over-claimed DEASP allowances. To date the HSE has not allowed such claims, with no basis in legislation (NHSS Act 2009) for such repayments to be made. However, noting a small number of recent cases, cross-governmental engagement is currently taking place on this issue in order to establish a long-term position.
592. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of inspections carried out on retailers that offer tanning and sun beds in 2021 and to date in 2022; the number and percentage of retailers in breach of legislation, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56719/22]
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.
593. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the number of full-time occupational therapist and speech and language therapists currently employed as part of the children's disability network teams in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56720/22]
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.
594. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health the hospitals that he has visited since 1 September 2021 in his capacity as Minister, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56721/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy is not immediately available, a full response is being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
595. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Health when the HSE will next commence the tender process in respect to the procurement of both operational and strategic legal services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56722/22]
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.
596. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide details of the expenditure by the forest service of his Department for the month of October 2022 versus October 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56101/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra601. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the expenditure by the forest service of his Department is in line with budget for the month of October 2022, thereby ensuring that there is no underspend again in this Department for 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56136/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 596 and 601 together.
The expenditure under the Forestry Budget for the month of October 2021 and 2022 is shown in the following table:
|
Month |
Oct- 21 |
Oct- 22 |
|
Expenditure |
€1,191,082 |
€2,554,437 |
The remainder of the forestry budget has been closely examined and sufficient funds apportioned to meet anticipated budgetary needs for 2022.
The Afforestation scheme under the Forestry Programme is demand led and therefore deviations from the allocation can occur. It is standard accounting practice that towards the end of a fiscal year spending Divisions within my Department will review their commitments for the remainder of the year and release funds that are not committed nor are unlikely to be committed. The funds released will be disbursed for other commitments across my Department. I am satisfied that sufficient funds remain in the forestry allocation to pay this year's commitments across all afforestation and support schemes.
With up to €112 million provided for in the forestry budget for 2023, I am satisfied that there are sufficient funds to fully support increased afforestation and all other forestry related schemes in 2023. I anticipate that with the recently announced increased rates for afforestation under the proposed new Forestry Programme and an improved licensing system we will see a renewed interest in planting trees in 2023. The definitive allocations will be set out in the 2023 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) which will be published later this year.
597. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the length of time that it took his Department to process each of the 11 afforestation licences on week four of October 2022 on the weekly dashboard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56102/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra600. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated cost of ecology input for the 11 afforestation licences issued on week number four of October's dashboard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56135/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra620. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm the number of ecologists involved in processing the 11 afforestation licences on week four of October 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56599/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 597, 600 and 620 together.
I am pleased to advise that this year we have seen considerable improvements in the issuance of forestry licences and a large decrease in the files with the Department.
We are issuing significantly more afforestation licences (621 year to date) than applications received (359 year to date), and this means that the backlog continues to drop, with faster turnaround times for new applicants.
The production of licences is a team effort and requires administrative staff, forestry Inspectors and when required archaeologists and ecologists. It is estimated that ecologists are involved in 75% to 80% of all files issued.
DAFM has issued 93 licences on average each week this year. On the basis that 75% of these had an ecologist input approximately 70 files per week had ecology input.
In relation to afforestation the pace of processing of these applications has picked up significantly, since increased ecological resources have been recruited with 238 licences processed in the 3rd quarter of this year, compared to 131 in the second quarter.
Taking account of all forestry licence types the average cost per file licensed that had ecology input is approximately €650 per file in 2022.
In relation to the 11 Afforestation licences on the dashboard for week 4 of October, there were 7 different DAFM ecologists involved and the turn-around times were as follows:
|
<120 days |
1 |
|
120 days to 6 months |
1 |
|
6 to 12 months |
5 |
|
>12 months |
4 |
598. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actual applications versus the phased projected monthly plan for licence and scheme applications in his Department’s plan for the month of October 2022 for Coillte felling, private felling, roads, afforestation and Ash dieback RUS in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56109/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra602. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the processing and issuing of licence and scheme approvals for the month of October 2022 is in line with his Department's phased plan for the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56137/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra619. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the actual output versus the phased projected monthly plan for licence and scheme approvals in his Department's plan for October 2022 for Coillte felling, private felling, roads, afforestation, Ash dieback RUS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56598/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 598, 602 and 619 together.
In October, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has issued, 120 private felling, 123 Coillte felling, 55 afforestation and 54 roads applications. 22 RUS applications have been processed also.
In addition, at 11th November 2022, there were 975 approved afforestation contracts with 7,243 ha that have not yet been planted.
There is an overall significant increase across all licensing categories in the year to date compared with last year. Up to 11th November, we have issued 4,176 licences, just behind the projected target of 4,545. In fact, in the 12 months from October 2021 to the end of October 2022 my Department has delivered 4,832 licences.
In terms of our targets in the year-to date, we are at 92% of our target for roads, 89% for private felling and over 100% for Coillte felling. Afforestation figures are 69% of year-to-date target. We continue to focus an intensive effort to clear older files ahead of the new forestry programme which was recently announced.
As regards RUS, while we committed in our Licensing Plan to increasing output this year, the Plan does not include an annual target as many RUS applications are screened in for Appropriate Assessment. There are 538 applications currently in the system and any applications that propose replacing the ash crop with conifer species currently require planning permission.
The introduction of the legislation to remove the requirement for planning permission for RUS projects of less than 10 ha in size is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. An Appropriate Assessment screening process is also currently being undertaken in parallel by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Ecological Assessment Unit. I am hopeful that the legislation can be introduced once their Environmental screening processes have been finalised.
The following table outlines applications received and licence output vs target in each of the licensing categories, as well as RUS applications received and issued.
To 11th November
|
Scheme |
Applications Received YTD |
Licence Output YTD |
Licence Target YTD |
Target based on weekly average |
Received October |
Output October |
Four week target |
|
Felling (Private) |
1,013 |
1,395 |
1,575 |
35 |
112 |
120 |
140 |
|
Felling (Coillte) |
1,366 |
1,499 |
1,350 |
30 |
0 |
123 |
120 |
|
Afforestation |
376 |
621 |
900 |
20 |
37 |
55 |
80 |
|
Roads |
541 |
661 |
720 |
16 |
27 |
54 |
64 |
|
Total (licences) |
3,296 |
4,176 |
4,545 |
101 |
176 |
352 |
404 |
|
RUS |
51 |
181 |
N/A |
N/A |
20 |
22 |
N |
In the interest of full transparency, details of all licences issued by category are available on my Department's weekly dashboard. This is published on the Departmental website and is made available to all interested parties, as well as being submitted to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine each week.
599. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has had any discussions with Coillte Ltd. in relation to the pension situation of former Coillte workers who have not received a pension increase since 2007; if his attention has been drawn to reports that workers who transferred to Coillte from the Civil Service were assured that their terms and conditions as civil servants would be fully maintained; the action that he proposes to take to ensure that this commitment is fulfilled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56120/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra623. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagements that he has had with the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the pensions of persons who were employed by Coillte having previously been employed as civil servants, in his role as a shareholder in Coillte; his position on reports that retirees have seen the purchasing power of their pensions substantially decrease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56646/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 599 and 623 together.
As the Deputy may be aware Coillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and as such is operationally independent from my Department.
Any pension increases granted are at the discretion of Coillte and are subject to the approval of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
A request for such consent is being considered at present.
603. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department intends to remove the dribble bar as a suitable mechanism for low-emissions slurry spreading from the TAMS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56180/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraDribble bars are currently available in the LESS, OCIS & YFCIS measures under TAMS II and the closing date for applications to the final tranche is the 16th of December.
In relation to TAMS 3, changes to the support for capital investments are subject to a Rural Development Plan (RDP) amendment and Commission approval. Once the RDP amendment is approved by the Commission grant rates, investment lists and terms and conditions relating to schemes can be finalised and published.
604. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he can provide an assurance that if farmers purchase a dribble bar for low-emissions slurry spreading, that this will continue to be an acceptable practice into the future, given that many farmers are fearful of making the necessary investment only to find that the rules change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56181/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe practice of Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) is an important environmentally sustainable technology that will facilitate Ireland in meeting its environmental commitments through ammonia reductions and improved nutrient recovery from slurries.
LESS also improves nutrient use efficiency and hence reduces dependency on chemical fertilisers. The practice of LESS through trailing hose (dribble bar) meets the requirements of Ireland's current Nitrates Action Programme which runs to the end of 2025.
From an air quality and an ammonia perspective, the spreading of slurries through any of the LESS technologies (trailing hose, trailing shoe or direct injection) is critical to reducing agriculture's ammonia emissions. These LESS technologies are now recognised in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) national greenhouse gas and air inventories for emissions estimates.
From a Nitrates Regulatory perspective, there is at present no intention to exclude the use of the trailing hose as a permitted LESS technology for the application of slurry.
605. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the supports he will put in place for sheep farmers in view of the fact they have missed out on the fodder scheme and that the sheep welfare scheme has not provided any additional money in budget 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56182/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy should be aware, the Fodder Support Scheme was open to all farmers who submitted a BPS Application in 2022 and who were not, as of 16th May 2022, in a Milk Supply Contract.
Government remains committed to supporting the sheep sector. The core targeted support for the sheep sector from 2023 will be the Sheep Improvement Scheme which aims to build on the progress made by the Sheep Welfare by providing support for actions that improve animal health and welfare in the sheep sector.
Sheep farmers will receive a rate of €12 per breeding ewe under this measure, the rate under the sheep welfare scheme was €10 per breeding ewe. Sheep farmers are also eligible for a number of other support schemes, including for example the ACRES scheme, and the Organics Scheme.
Another significant support for the sheep sector is the inclusion of the sector in the new support for early-stage producer organisations in the incoming CSP which, in addition to providing administrative support of up to €33,000 to groups, provides under competition law for collective bargaining on output prices thereby strengthening their position in the supply chain.
One of the commitments under the current Programme for Government was to conduct a review of the potential demand for wool-based products such as for insulation and fertilisers in domestic and international markets.
The independently compiled review published on 1st July 2022 contains a number of findings and recommendations including potential funding streams, market opportunities for wool and multiple areas for additional research and development.
One of the main recommendations is the establishment of an industry-led Wool Council which would develop and promote Irish wool domestically and internationally and bring together multiple stakeholders to foster collaboration, innovation and scaling activities in the wool sector.
In support of this recommendation, I have committed to provide funding to the wool industry of €30,000 towards the initial set-up costs of setting up this independent industry led Wool Council.
