Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

Grant Payments

Seán Canney

1760. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider overhauling the current grants regime in order that farmers can bank the money they receive year by year and not face recoupments going back up to five years in relation to money that is long spent; if his attention has been drawn to the stress that these recoupments are placing on farmers and the fact that changes to schemes can ensure that a farmer’s payments are withheld if they do not reach targets, as opposed to recouped over many years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63365/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

1768. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason that the areas of the Ballyboy, Cregaclare Turlough, Ballyboy, Ardrahan, County Galway, are excluded from the ACRES scheme given that they are areas of important ecological value; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63472/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

1827. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person who has been willed a farm holding as a sole beneficiary but probate has not yet been completed can participate in the ACRES scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1138/23]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

671. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the compensation plans that his Department is putting in place to support farmers whose forest has been affected by ash dieback; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61831/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

119. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will open applications for the ACRES in early 2023 to allow farmers who could not meet the 2022 application deadline to qualify for a payment in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61447/22]

Agriculture Supports

Seán Canney

782. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of entitlements in the national reserve for young farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59106/22]

Probation and Welfare Service

Seán Canney

792. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider changing the criterial for the ACRES scheme to allow flock keepers to make applications as many farms throughout the country are going through probate following the death of a herd owner and these families risk losing out on the ACRES scheme as they are herd keepers as opposed to herd owners while legal matters are being dealt with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57893/22]

Animal Diseases

Seán Canney

793. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will change the current regime to ensure that scans are accepted as proof of a cow being in-calf in cases of TB outbreaks as farmers risk losing significant sums of money if a post-mortem examination fails to pick up on the fact that a cow was in the early stages of being in-calf; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57894/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

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]

Agriculture Industry

Seán Canney

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]

Agriculture Supports

Seán Canney

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]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

334. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider extending the deadline for the ACRES past the current deadline of 21 November 2022 for a further four weeks to allow farmers and agri-planners to arrange the necessary on-farm inspections in advance of applications being made, given many farmers will be locked out of the scheme otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56026/22]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

771. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the new forestry programme will be launched; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53361/22]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

772. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will introduce a support scheme to support forestry in view of the delay in launching the new forestry programme; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this delay has pushed many small businesses to the brink of closure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53363/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

873. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his rationale for requiring farmers applying for the new beef suckler scheme 2023 to be Bord Bia quality-assured given that the Bord Bia audit is another cross-compliance check for farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51565/22]

Animal Passports

Seán Canney

777. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider introducing a system by which digital copies of equine passports can be sent electronically to his Department to have them uploaded to the central database as opposed to forcing persons to travel and incur significant cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49487/22]

Pension Provisions

Seán Canney

2065. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is willing to address the anomaly in which a person (details supplied) who worked in a semi-State body has no recognition in terms of pension of their years of work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39827/22]

EU Funding

Seán Canney

807. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of funding that this Government will receive from the EU crisis reserve fund; the level of funding the Irish Government will top it up with; and the additional supports that this funding will provide for farmers in this deepening escalation of input prices. [27412/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

416. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the fact that applicants for the Beef Data and Genomics Programme have experienced difficulty (details supplied) in relation to same; his views on whether cases in which all other conditions of the scheme have been met should be treated in a common sense manner and be accepted and processed by his Department without need for recourse to the agri appeals office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27113/22]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

937. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an organisation (details supplied) has submitted its final report on the review of the legislation and the full examination of the regulatory system for the forestry licencing; if the report has been finalised, if he will provide details of the findings; when he will introduce the recommended changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17973/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

403. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will include the equine sector in future TAMS on farm investment schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13651/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

107. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason farmers who make simple errors in online applications are not having their problems rectified within his Department’s appeals process, including, for example, farmers who fail to tick an areas of natural constraint, ANC, box on a basic payment scheme, BPS, application, who are not having this simple matter rectified by the section involved on appeal; if his attention has been drawn to the number of farmers who have lost significant amounts of funding as a result of this inflexibility; if a review will be conducted into the number of such instances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5968/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

148. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the supports he plans to put in place to support farmers in relation to the high cost of inputs including fertiliser due to the extraordinary increase in the price of inputs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5967/22]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

157. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to introduce a new licensing regime for single forestry applications to include planting, thinning and felling of forests to give certainty to farmers and persons involved in the forestry business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5971/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

176. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider amending the sheep welfare scheme to allow farmers who were forced out of the scheme for a year due to significant ill health or other exceptional circumstances to re-enter the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5970/22]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

229. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of reviews or appeals sent to his Department that are successful; if the percentage of these reviews or appeals which are being decided in the client’s favour has decreased in recent years; his views on whether clients seeking a review decision are having their cases reviewed in a fair and compassionate manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57720/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

230. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of appeals received by his Department in each of the years 2016 to 2020 not including appeals to the agriculture appeals office; the percentage of those which were successful in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57721/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

231. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of appeals received in the agriculture appeals office in each of the years 2016 to 2020; the percentage of those which were successful in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57722/21]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

726. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will apply the maximum timelines on each application in a functioning licensing system for forestry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54706/21]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

727. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a refined timeframe will be provided for the implementation of the MacKinnon Report on the review of the approval process for forestation in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54707/21]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

728. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will introduce a single licence application system to deal with planting, thinning and harvesting to give certainty to the forestry industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54708/21]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

729. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will set up a forestry development agency to promote and represent the forestry sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54709/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

1244. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures in place in relation to the BEAM scheme in circumstances in which farmers test positive for TB and have their herd restricted and therefore cannot sell cattle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53002/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

767. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider changing the criteria of appeal regarding ANC payments for persons who ticked the wrong box and made a clerical error online but whose difficulties have not been rectified through the appeals process which is only of benefit if farmers were ill or incapacitated at the time but not to those who made a simple error while using the online system; his views on the fact that many farmers have made such errors since they were forced to do the applications online in 2018 such as persons (details supplied); if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the number of farmers who met the stocking density but who were not paid more than doubled from 109 in 2018 to 239 in 2019; if his attention has been further drawn to the hardship that this lack of payment caused; his further views on whether the current inability of his Department to put in systems to address this problem is a serious administrative flaw; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48109/21]

Veterinary Services

Seán Canney

792. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he plans to allow all veterinary medicines to be dispensed by farm supply companies; if he will elaborate on his approach to ensuring that this happens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43509/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

3360. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will issue simple guidance to farmers to assist them in reducing their herd numbers to comply with the BEAM scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39210/21]

Agriculture Industry

Seán Canney

4. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to organise the sheep wool industry in Ireland to ensure that sheep farmers get a fair price for their produce. [37226/21]

Climate Action Plan

Seán Canney

9. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the increase in budget his Department will receive in 2021 to deal with the cost of implementing the Climate Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37230/21]

Environmental Policy

Seán Canney

32. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on lifting the restrictions on horticultural peat harvesting for 2021 to avoid a shortage of supply for 2021 which will result in job losses and businesses closures in the regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37227/21]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

41. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has addressed the shortcomings in terms of resources in his Department to deal with ecologist’s reports for tree felling licences in which there is a two year backlog in the application process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37228/21]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

70. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of efforts by his Department to combat ash dieback disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37231/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

76. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to ensure that farmers who make trivial mistakes on online applications, such as failing to tick the ANC box when they wish to get paid for ANC, have an easy and transparent mechanism to have their mistakes rectified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37229/21]

Departmental Reviews

Seán Canney

561. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress that has been made on the feasibility study on wool; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35809/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

587. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the beef plan movement has been excluded from the beef taskforce forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34355/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

598. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the plight of farmers who are over the age for the young farmer scheme and who are starting or restarting a career in farming following various changes in life circumstances, including marriage breakdown but who cannot access entitlements and are forced to lease entitlements from non-active farmers; if he plans to change the current regulations to allow such farmers to access entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34721/21]

Forestry Sector

Seán Canney

1175. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision will be made on an afforestation application (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30657/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

302. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will increase the level of grants to farmers for farm sheds due to the recent increases in the cost of materials; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29033/21]

Agriculture Schemes

Seán Canney

1118. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider putting in place a top-up payment on grant schemes to reflect the additional costs that disabled farmers incur in meeting the terms of the schemes in view of the fact that 13% of farmers have a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21193/21]

Covid-19 Pandemic

Seán Canney

1123. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will lift the restrictions and allow farmers selling at marts to attend at the mart for the sale given that many farmers do not have access to proper broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21200/21]

Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme

Seán Canney

1132. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider changing the terms and conditions of the TAMS scheme for low emission slurry spreading equipment to allow registered agricultural contractors who do not own a farm to apply for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21345/21]