Written Answers Nos. 493-511
494. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the participation payment of the organic farming scheme will be paid; if the timing of such has been revised; if so, when; the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5948/23]
View answerOne of the solutions proposed to addressing the barrier to more farmers joining the organic farming scheme was the introduction of an annual participation payment. This is to cover the administration costs for farmers on issues like annual certification.
The Department introduced this under the new Organic Faming Scheme and organic farmers will now receive a participation payment of €2,000 while in their first year of conversion and €1,400/annum thereafter while they are participants in the scheme.
The participation payment will be paid in accordance with EU Regulations after all checks have been undertaken and accompany the main scheme payment. I expect this will be during late November or early December this year in line with previous years. We will confirm the exact payment date closer to the time.
495. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he can explain the reason a Coillte-owned company (details supplied) based in Clonmel is charging all its Irish MDF customers more expensive prices for its products compared to its customers in England. [6000/23]
View answerCoillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I have referred the matter to Coillte for direct follow-up with the Deputy.
496. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to confirm the directors appointed by his office to the board of Coillte; if he has had engagements with these directors from December 2022 to date; if he has communicated the Government's dissatisfaction with a company's (details supplied) deal to these directors; if he considers the positions of the directors appointed by his office to be tenable following the deal between Coillte and the company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6089/23]
View answerCoillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from the Minister and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The Forestry Act 1988 sets out the governance of Coillte and provides that the number of Directors shall be not more than nine. Directors, with the exception of the one worker Director on the Board and the CEO where appointed, are selected through a competitive Public Appointments Service process for new Board members. Each Director is then appointed by the shareholding Ministers i.e. the Minister with responsibility for forestry and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
In terms of engagement, the Chair of Coillte wrote to Minister of State Hackett and I on 16th December, 2022 advising of the launch of the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund. The CEO of Coillte followed up at with a letter of 19th December regarding the launch date for the Fund.
A meeting between myself, Minister Hackett and senior representatives of Coillte, including the Chair and CEO, was held on 19th January, 2023 to discuss Coillte's progress in developing and implementing its long- term strategic vision to 2050 and in particular Coillte's contribution to the nation's afforestation targets in line with Government policy.
As to the question of the Directors of the Board, I advise that I have confidence in the Board and we will continue to work closely with them in regards to the continued good governance of Coillte and to encourage Coillte's contribution to afforestation.
497. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of each bonus payment to employees of Coillte and Greyhound Racing Ireland in 2020, 2021 and 2022. [6094/23]
View answerCoillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The questions raised by the Deputy are an operational matter for Coillte and RCÉ and I have, therefore, referred the matter to both Coillte and RCÉ for direct follow-up with the Deputy.
498. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 662 of 24 January 2023, the way in which a farmer can avail of an onsite farmyard inspection by his Department’s staff to ensure that a solar PV installation meets the minimum requirements of his Department’s technical and safety specifications, not least specification S198 -minimum specification for the installation of solar pv panels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6175/23]
View answerAll Solar PV installers registered with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are required to install solar PV systems in accordance with the requirements of Specification S198 – ‘Minimum Specification for the Installation of Solar PV Panels’, thus ensuring that systems are correctly installed in a safe manner and fit for purpose.
Investments completed are subject to a 5% rate of inspection by my Department. It is in this context that an onsite farmyard inspection of a solar PV installation takes place.
499. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the percentage of social media videos posted on her Department's social media accounts or the social media accounts of public bodies and agencies that operate under the remit of her Department, that included closed captioning or subtitling and Irish sign language translations between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022, inclusive. [5576/23]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy for the period in question is set out in the table below:
|
Department/Agency |
Closed Captions Social Media Posts |
Irish Sign Language Social Media Posts |
|
Department of Rural and Community Development |
98.5% |
0% |
|
Charities Regulator |
No videos posted |
No videos posted |
|
Water Safety Ireland |
6% |
0% |
|
Pobal |
100% |
0% |
|
Western Development Commission |
3.8% |
0% |
500. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the reason that the €800,000 funding support for men’s sheds was not announced earlier in 2022; the reason that it was only open for applications for a short number of weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5585/23]
View answer501. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the reason that the period of qualified utility and operating expenses differs between the community support fund and the funding supports allocated to support Irish men’s sheds, both announced in November 2022, given that they are similar grants in nature; if any consideration was given to the IMSA allocation having the same expenses timeframe of April 2022 to March 2023, given that this would have alleviated issues that have arisen whereby a number of sheds have been left ineligible for the full allocation following funding allocations from other streams in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5586/23]
View answer502. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the further efforts that are to be made on a Government level to assist in the sustainability of stand-alone men’s sheds in Ireland; if the Government has consulted with IMSA in this regard, especially following issues that arose in relation to the €800,000 grant that was allocated late last year by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5587/23]
View answer503. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the reason the €800,000 funding support for men’s sheds did not allow further discretion for sheds in greater need of financial assistance, sheds that may have forgone items deemed as eligible expenditure due to their uncertain financial futures in 2022, sheds that have received support from their local communities through non-monetary means, ensuring their survival but leaving the shed ineligible for this financial support as they have not incurred the costs listed as eligible expenditure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5588/23]
View answer504. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the reason that the €800,000 funding support for men’s sheds cannot be used for part payments on the total cost of capital expenditure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5589/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 500 to 504, inclusive, together.
Last November, I was delighted to announce funding of €800,000 to support Men’s Sheds throughout the country.The initiative will see grants of up to €2,000 provided to over 400 registered Men’s Sheds nationwide, to assist them with running costs such as electricity or insurance bills.
The individual grants will be distributed to the over 400 Men’s Sheds via its representative body, the Irish Men’s Sheds Association (IMSA). Sheds should contact the IMSA for further details and with queries around eligibility.
Separately, The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) has provided supports to over 200 Men’s Sheds since 2018, with small grants totalling over €98,000 awarded to 116 Men’s Sheds. This support is still is available from SICAP.
My Department also funded the Irish Men’s Sheds Association under the COVID-19 Stability Funding in 2020. They distributed €70,424 equally among their member sheds to support the organisations to continue to deliver services despite the challenges brought by COVID-19.
The Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) provides multi-annual funding towards core costs of national, community and voluntary organisations. The current iteration commenced on 1 July 2022 and will cease on 30 June 2025. The Irish Men’s Sheds Association has been allocated total funding of €243,158 over the three year period of the scheme.
And finally, Men's Sheds can also apply for funding to the Community Support Fund (CSF) that was announced last November under the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP). Since 2018, over 1,200 Men’s Sheds have received funding of over €2 million under the CEP.
The €10m Community Support Fund was set up to help small community groups with their energy/running costs but will also provide funding for small capital works projects. Costs incurred in the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023 are eligible under the fund.
The CSF is being administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) on behalf of my Department and interested Men’s Sheds should contact their local LCDC directly for further information.
505. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of fines that have been issued for controlled breeds of dogs for being in breach of regulations in each county for the past five years. [5607/23]
View answerMy Department publishes annual statistics in respect of a range of the dog control responsibilities of local authorities. Information up to and including 2021, by county and in tabular form, is available on the dog control statistics page on gov.ie. The 2022 dog control statistics are currently being collated and when checked and verified will be published on gov.ie.
A more detailed breakdown of the fines issued by local authorities for the controlled breeds of dogs for being in breach of regulations regarding muzzling, leashing and identification, in each county for the past five years, is provided for information.
|
Fines issued by Local Authorities for Muzzling, Leashing & Identification |
|||||
|
Local Authority |
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
|
Carlow |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cavan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Clare |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cork City |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cork County |
42 |
65 |
34 |
37 |
8 |
|
Donegal |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dublin City |
4 |
35 |
20 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dún Laoghaire /Rathdown |
0 |
2 |
11 |
3 |
0 |
|
Fingal |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Galway City |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Galway County |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Kerry |
4 |
11 |
7 |
5 |
8 |
|
Kildare |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Kilkenny |
3 |
13 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
|
Laois |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Leitrim |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Limerick City & County |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
|
Longford |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Louth |
25 |
29 |
19 |
21 |
18 |
|
Mayo |
0 |
0 |
7 |
32 |
11 |
|
Meath |
4 |
24 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
|
Monaghan |
0 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
16 |
|
Offaly |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Roscommon |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sligo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
South Dublin |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Tipperary |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Waterford City & County |
0 |
3 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
|
Westmeath |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wexford |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wicklow |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
Total |
84 |
190 |
148 |
116 |
64 |
506. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if grants are available to upgrade a defibrillator (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5778/23]
View answerSome of my Department's programmes fund the purchase of capital equipment such as through the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP). This programme provides small grants to community groups to enhance facilities in disadvantaged areas. The 2022 Community Support Fund (CSF) under the Community Enhancement Programme was launched in November 2022 with funding of €10 million, and is now open to applications.
The CSF is administered by the Local Community Development Committees in each Local Authority area, on behalf of my Department. The fund covers the purchase of equipment (such as defibrillators) but does not generally cover operating costs related to the maintenance, repair, or service of defibrillators. I would advise the group to make contact with their Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) for further details on the programme.
The LEADER Programme is also a source of funding for rural areas and the purchase of community defibrillators may be eligible for LEADER funding. Groups should contact their Local Action Group to determine eligibility.
507. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the community services programme will open to new applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6059/23]
View answerThe Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) supports over 420 community organisations to provide employment opportunities and the delivery of local services through a social enterprise model.
Qualifying organisations must be social enterprises capable of generating income from their activities in order to meet the full salary costs of the supported posts, for example, from income received from the public use of facilities and services.
As part of the restructuring process, a new funding rate allocation model for the CSP programme has been introduced, as an alternative to the previous flat rate payment model. CSP organisations that are operating in areas of high disadvantage, employing individuals from the prescribed programme target groups and having limited earning potential will now benefit from the higher funding rate category.
The programme is currently closed to new applications. However, it is anticipated that the Programme will open calls to address identified gaps in service delivery in the coming weeks.
508. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if Cahir, County Tipperary, which received approximately €12 million from her Department for town centre renovation, will be able to draw down funds to begin work on the car park and library projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6123/23]
View answerThe Rural Regeneration and Development Fund provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. To date, 215 projects have been approved for funding of €395 million for projects costing €542 million.
Calls for applications to the Fund are sought under two categories – Category 1 and Category 2. Category 1 relates to large scale ambitious capital projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place, and which are ready to proceed. Category 2 provides smaller grant funding to enable the development of project proposals suitable for future calls for Category 1 applications.
The Pathway to the Regeneration of Cahir Town Centre project was approved funding of €663,362 from the second call for Category 2 application in 2020. This Category 2 funding enabled the lead party, Tipperary County Council, to develop detailed designs for the project and to prepare it for future submission under Category 1.
The Activating Cahir’s Town Centre Regeneration Strategy project was submitted under the fourth call for Category 1 applications, which closed in April 2022. On 10th November 2022 I announced that the project had emerged as successful under this call and allocated funding of €11,915,749 to the project.
The project will be delivered based on a timeframe to be agreed upon between my Department and Tipperary County Council. This timeframe will be dependent on the level of progress achieved in relation to the Carrick on Suir Regeneration Plan project, also allocated funding in November, and on other existing Rural Regeneration and Development Fund projects currently being progressed by Tipperary County Council.
509. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if her attention has been drawn to any instances where the public relations unit and or press office of her Department undertook to create social media accounts under false names, which were operated in order to further the messaging or communications of her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4876/23]
View answerMy Department has not created any social media accounts under false names to further messaging or communications.
510. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount spent by her Department on online advertising in each of the past ten years and to date in 2023, in tabular form; if she will provide details in relation to this spending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4858/23]
View answerThe amount spent by my Department on online advertising since the Department was established in 2017 is detailed in the table below:
|
Year |
Campaign |
Total Amount |
|
2023 |
Nil |
|
|
2022 |
Nil |
|
|
2021 |
Promotion of Government's Rural Development Policy - Our Rural Future |
€4,798.52 |
|
2020 |
Promotion of Volunteer Centres |
€167.00 |
|
2019 |
Rural Opportunity campaign |
€4,078.79 |
|
2018 |
Nil |
|
|
2017 |
Nil |
511. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the way in which other State or local authority funds can be used in conjunction with community centres investment fund-funding to carry out works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6180/23]
View answerThe Government is aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and I was delighted to secure a further €20 million in funding under Budget 2023 to continue the Community Centres Investment Fund.
This builds on the funding approved under the fund in 2022 under which applicants could seek funding for elements of a wider project for which funding from other sources such as SEAI Better Energy Communities Scheme. LEADER funding could also be used alongside the Community Centres Investment Fund, so long as the applicants satisfied the criteria outlined in the fund guidelines.
It is intended that the 2023 fund will be targeted primarily at new build community centres. The detail of the 2023 scheme is currently being developed by officials within my Department, and it is my intention to announce the details of the 2023 fund in quarter 1.
