Written Answers Nos. 371-387
Aquaculture Development
371. Deputy Michelle Mulherin   asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sites off the west coast that are proposed to be developed as offshore fish farms; the scientific assessment of the environmental impact that has been conducted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55135/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) has submitted an application to my Department for an Aquaculture and a Foreshore Licence for the cultivation of Finfish near Inis Oirr in Galway Bay. The application and its accompanying Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is currently being considered fully in accordance with the provisions of the 1997 Fisheries (Amendment) Act and the1933 Foreshore Act as amended.
As consideration of the application and EIS is ongoing by my Department in accordance with the statutory process it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the EIS pending a determination of the application.
My Department has also issued a Site Investigation Licence to BIM in respect of potential sites off the Mayo coast. I also understand that BIM is currently engaged in preliminary work with a view to a possible application for a Site Investigation Licence for an area off the coast of Donegal.
Agri-Environment Options Scheme Payments
372. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment of the agri-environment options scheme will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55136/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1st September 2011.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, have to be completed before any payment can issue. These checks have been successfully completed and payment in respect of the 2011 Scheme year will issue shortly.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Payments
373. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment of a disadvantaged areas scheme will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway who has now registered as a horse premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55137/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The person named recently registered his premises with my Department, as required in accordance with S.I. No 8 of 2012, Diseases of Animals Act 1996 (Registration of Horse Premises ) Order 2012 This has enabled the processing of the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application to recently be finalised, with payment shortly issuing to the nominated bank account.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Appeals
374. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on an appeal to the disadvantaged area appeals committee in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55149/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The appeal of the person named was recently forwarded to the DAS Appeals Committee for consideration; immediately that Committee has adjudicated on this appeal, the person concerned will be notified of their decision, in writing.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Appeals
375. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on an appeal to the disadvantaged area appeals committee in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55151/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The appeal of the person named was recently forwarded to the DAS Appeals Committee for consideration; immediately that Committee has adjudicated on this appeal, the person concerned will be notified of their decision, in writing.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Appeals
376. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on an appeal to the disadvantaged area appeals committee in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55193/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The appeal of the person named was recently forwarded to the DAS Appeals Committee for consideration; immediately that Committee has adjudicated on this appeal, the person concerned will be notified of their decision, in writing.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Appeals
377. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on an appeal to disadvantaged area appeals committee in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55194/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The appeal of the person named was recently forwarded to the DAS Appeals Committee for consideration; immediately that Committee has adjudicated on this appeal, the person concerned will be notified of their decision, in writing.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Appeals
378. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on an appeal to the disadvantaged area appeal committee in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55195/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The person named is one of a number, their derogation application having been unsuccessful, who were offered the option to appeal to the independently chaired DAS Appeals Committee. To date, this option has not been availed of. Should the applicant choose to appeal, it will be referred to the DAS Appeals Committee.
Agrifood Sector Issues
379. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will he confirm the number of people employed in the agrifood sector here as of 1 December 2012; the percentage this is of the national employment figure; if he will provide a breakdown of those employed as of this date within the areas of primary production, food and beverage manufacturing, and other related activities; if this represents an increase or a decrease on the December 2011 figure; and if so, if he will specify by how much; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55207/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The latest employment figures, available from the Central Statistics Office Quarterly National Household Survey, are in respect of Q3 2012 and they show the following breakdown compared to the same period last year:
| - |
Q3 2011 |
Q3 2012 |
- |
| Primary Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing |
82.4 |
85.6 |
|
| Food & Beverages |
50.3 |
48.9 |
|
| Wood & Wood Products |
5.0 |
4.3 |
|
| Total Agri-Food |
137.7 |
138.8 |
+1% |
| Total Employment |
1,845.6 |
1,841.3 |
|
| Agri-Food % of Total Employment |
7.46% |
7.54% |
|
Agrifood Sector Issues
380. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a breakdown of the numbers of people per county who are employed by the agrifood sector as of 1 December 2012, including those working in primary production, food and beverage manufacturing, and other related activities; if he will provide comparative figures for 2010 and 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55208/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The Central Statistics Office’s Quarter National Household Survey, which would ordinarily be used for year-on-year comparison of employment data, does not provide figures at county level.
The most recent such data available is in the attached table which has been specially extracted from the CSO’s Census 2011 results.
Census 2011, NACE 1 - Numbers at Work
| Agri-Food & Forestry |
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing |
Manufacture of Food & Beverages |
Wood & Wood Products |
| Carlow |
1,878 |
Carlow |
1,397 |
Carlow |
398 |
Carlow |
83 |
| Cavan |
4,736 |
Cavan |
3,381 |
Cavan |
1,273 |
Cavan |
82 |
| Clare |
4,166 |
Clare |
3,840 |
Clare |
256 |
Clare |
70 |
| Cork |
18,845 |
Cork |
13,035 |
Cork |
5,025 |
Cork |
785 |
| Donegal |
5,580 |
Donegal |
4,036 |
Donegal |
1,421 |
Donegal |
123 |
| Dublin |
8,777 |
Dublin |
2,949 |
Dublin |
5,443 |
Dublin |
385 |
| Galway |
7,296 |
Galway |
6,224 |
Galway |
788 |
Galway |
284 |
| Kerry |
7,165 |
Kerry |
5,621 |
Kerry |
1,086 |
Kerry |
458 |
| Kildare |
5,019 |
Kildare |
3,028 |
Kildare |
1,821 |
Kildare |
170 |
| Kilkenny |
4,714 |
Kilkenny |
3,386 |
Kilkenny |
1,174 |
Kilkenny |
154 |
| Laois |
3,232 |
Laois |
2,469 |
Laois |
591 |
Laois |
172 |
| Leitrim |
1,482 |
Leitrim |
1,215 |
Leitrim |
157 |
Leitrim |
110 |
| Limerick |
6,101 |
Limerick |
4,388 |
Limerick |
1,569 |
Limerick |
144 |
| Longford |
2,219 |
Longford |
1,323 |
Longford |
811 |
Longford |
85 |
| Louth |
2,322 |
Louth |
1,357 |
Louth |
897 |
Louth |
68 |
| Mayo |
6,831 |
Mayo |
5,411 |
Mayo |
1,252 |
Mayo |
168 |
| Meath |
5,175 |
Meath |
3,748 |
Meath |
1,278 |
Meath |
149 |
| Monaghan |
4,266 |
Monaghan |
2,860 |
Monaghan |
1,288 |
Monaghan |
118 |
| Offaly |
3,242 |
Offaly |
2,286 |
Offaly |
845 |
Offaly |
111 |
| Roscommon |
2,986 |
Roscommon |
2,451 |
Roscommon |
456 |
Roscommon |
79 |
| Sligo |
2,178 |
Sligo |
1,770 |
Sligo |
343 |
Sligo |
65 |
| Tipperary |
9,494 |
Tipperary |
6,817 |
Tipperary |
2,391 |
Tipperary |
286 |
| Waterford |
3,792 |
Waterford |
2,604 |
Waterford |
1,027 |
Waterford |
161 |
| Westmeath |
2,439 |
Westmeath |
1,925 |
Westmeath |
425 |
Westmeath |
89 |
| Wexford |
6,042 |
Wexford |
4,371 |
Wexford |
1,497 |
Wexford |
174 |
| Wicklow |
3,011 |
Wicklow |
2,355 |
Wicklow |
509 |
Wicklow |
147 |
| Totals |
132,988 |
|
94,247 |
|
34,021 |
|
4,720 |
Agrifood Sector Issues
381. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm the total amount of revenue the agrifood sector has contributed to the economy here so far this year; if he will quantify this percentage in terms of the overall amount contributed by the Irish manufacturing sector to the economy in 2012; if he will outline the percentage of Irish goods and services constituted by those produced by the agrifood industry; the percentage of exports by indigenous manufacturing industries that are from the agrifood industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55209/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The Census of Industrial Production data for the most recent year available (2010) showed that the Gross Output of the Food & Beverages sector was €20.2 billion, representing 23% of all manufacturing output or 21% of all industrial output. Furthermore, the output of indigineous food and beverage manufacturers accounted for 51% of all indigineous manufacturing output.
The same data set also shows that exports from indigineous food and beverage manufacturers also accounted for 51% of exports from all Irish manufacturers.
Although the corresponding figures for 2011 and 2012 will not be released for some time the increase in food exports over the last two years, which was put at 25% or close to €2bn, and a consolidation of that position this year could be expected to be reflect positively when they are published.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Appeals
382. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on an appeal to the disadvantaged area appeals committee in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55223/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The appeal of the person named was recently forwarded to the DAS Appeals Committee for consideration; immediately that Committee has adjudicated on this appeal, the person concerned will be notified of their decision, in writing.
Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Appeals
383. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a decision has been made on an appeal to the disadvantaged area appeals committee in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55240/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The derogation application of the person named having been successful, the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application was further processed and recently finalised, with payment shortly due to issue to the nominated bank account.
Forestry Sector
384. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a breakdown per year for the past ten years of the amount of State forestry land sold and being sold by Coillte and its value; the amount of State forestry land removed from forestry for development reasons and its value site sales, wind energy, roads, power lines and so on; the amount of State forestry land removed from forest cover due to environmental considerations and its lost timber value riparian zone clearance, return to wetlands and so on; the amount of land purchased and its value, by Coillte for new State afforestation; his plans to halt the sale of 1,109 acres of forestry in County Donegal; if he intends to submit a request to Coillte to withdraw the sale; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55262/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as the sale and acquisition of land which take place regularly, are the responsibility of the company.
Coillte has provided the following breakdown of the total area and value of property sales completed each year from 2003 to end November 2012.
| Year |
Area (Hectares) |
Value (€m) |
2003 |
473 |
13.64 |
2004 |
488 |
12.09 |
2005 |
775 |
38.67 |
2006 |
319 |
16.42 |
2007 |
552 |
22.48 |
2008 |
422 |
11.13 |
2009 |
590 |
13.48 |
2010 |
635 |
8.96 |
2011 |
346 |
10.62 |
| 2012 (to end November) |
111 |
3.7 |
Coillte advise that the above figures relate to land sales for diverse uses including housing, commercial developments, tourism, windfarms, road widening and other national infrastructure developments and that a breakdown by category is not readily available.
In relation to the amount of State Forestry land removed from forest cover, Coillte advise that a total of 3,196 hectares has been converted to wetlands through Coillte's three LIFE NATURE projects. These lands would not have been considered highly productive despite carrying trees. As areas designated SAC for wetlands, this work has contributed to achieving national targets under the Habitats Directive. As for the lands removed due to environmental considerations and riparian zone clearance, Coillte advise that this information is not readily available and it would be time consuming to gather this data. The lost timber value has not been quantified.
As for the amount of land purchased by Coillte for new State afforestation, the company advises that Coillte has been deemed ineligible for forestry loss-of-income premiums since 1996 and is not in a position to purchase land for afforestation while ineligible for premiums. The company further advises that it has contributed to the national afforestation programme through forestry partnerships with farmers and the provision of forestry services to farmers and other landowners.
The land transaction mentioned by the Deputy is an operational matter for the company.
Single Payment Scheme Payments
385. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the single farm payment will be paid immediately in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick. [55264/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The 2012 Single Payment Scheme application of the person named has been finalised for payment.
However payment cannot issue, as a conditional garnishee order (a Court order obtained by a third party) has been received by my Department. Compliance with such a court order is not a matter of policy for me to exercise, at my discretion, as it is a legal requirement.
Agri-Environment Options Scheme Eligibility
386. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding an agri-environment options scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; when will same issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55267/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): The person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1 September 2011 and full payment totalling €801.59 issued in respect of 2011.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. Payment in respect of the 2012 Scheme year is subject to a similar administrative checking process which includes verification of capital investment through checks on receipts. These checks have been completed and I expect that 75% payment in respect of 2012 will issue shortly to the person named. The balancing 25% payment will issue shortly thereafter.
Agriculture Schemes Payments
387. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when disadvantaged areas scheme, REPS and single farm payments will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55273/12]
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney): A 50% advance of the Single Payment issued to the person named on 16 October 2012 and the balancing payment on 3 December 2012.
As processing of the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application has recently been finalised, payment will shortly issue to the nominated bank account.
The person named commenced REPS 4 in June 2009 and received payments for the first three years of their contract.
REPS 4 is a measure under the 2007-13 Rural Development Programme and is subject to EU Regulations which require detailed administrative checks on all applications to be completed before any payments can issue. This process is completed for 2012 in respect of the person named and the 75% Year 4 payment amounting to €4207.05 issued on 10th December 2012. The remaining 25% balancing payment will issue shortly.
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