Wednesday, 10 Jul 2024

Written Answers Nos. 211-223

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Equal Opportunities Employment

Questions (211)

Pauline Tully

Question:

211. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Justice the number and percentage of people with disabilities employed across her Department and bodies under the aegis of her Department in each of the years 2020 to 2023; the number and percentage of people with disabilities employed across her Department and bodies under the aegis of her Department in the corresponding timeframe that had full-time contracts; and the number and percentage of people with disabilities employed in her Department and bodies under the aegis of her Department in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 that had part-time contracts, in tabular form. [30951/24]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

It has not been possible to collate the information requested in the time allowed. I will write to the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.

Pesticide Use

Questions (212)

Jackie Cahill

Question:

212. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of people who have undertaken the mandated health and safety course, by county, since the introduction of the Sustainable Use Directive governing the application of pesticides; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30025/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for the implementation of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive 2009/128/EC which specifies various measures to reduce risks to human health and the environment from pesticide use. These measures include requirements for training and certification of professional users of pesticides.

A professional user is any person who applies/sprays professional use plant protection products. This includes operators, technicians, employees, and self-employed people, both in farming and other sectors. Only a Department registered professional user can apply plant protection products that are authorised for professional use.

Before becoming registered as a professional user, it is a statutory requirement for the person to have a minimum level of training and this is achieved by completing a suitable course which is recognised by my Department. The list of such qualifications is available on the website:

www.pcs.agriculture.gov.ie/sud/professionaluserssprayeroperators/training/

To date, over 38,000 people have completed an appropriate training course and are registered as a professional user. The details by county are outlined below.

County	DAFM Registered Professional Users (appropriate course completed)
Carlow	640
Cavan	1290
Clare	1533
Cork	4471
Donegal	2002
Dublin	1017
Galway	3364
Kerry	2388
Kildare	1275
Kilkenny	1200
Laois	870
Leitrim	579
Limerick	1524
Longford	591
Louth	539
Mayo	2914
Meath	1179
Monaghan	1029
Offaly	796
Roscommon	1183
Sligo	1011
Tipperary	2213
Waterford	1019
Westmeath	998
Wexford	1751
Wicklow	721
Total	38097

Agriculture Schemes

Questions (213)

Jackie Cahill

Question:

213. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers due a balancing payment on the suckler carbon efficiency program; when his Department will make these payments;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30029/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) aims to provide support to beef farmers to improve the environmental sustainability of the national beef herd. The programme aims to build on the gains delivered in recent years through the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme (BEEP) by improving the genetic merit of the Irish suckler herd.

Balancing payments for some 8,000 SCEP participants totalling circa €4.9m were processed by my Department in recent days and payments have commenced from Monday 08 July 2024.

Agriculture Schemes

Questions (214)

Jackie Cahill

Question:

214. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on an ACRES payment application (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30152/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

An application was received in the name of this herd owner for the Co-Operation stream of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES CP). An interim payment issued to the person named in February 2024.

Balancing payments have commenced and will continue to issue regularly to facilitate all cases that pass through the validation process. The balancing payment claim associated with this herd has not yet cleared all validations. My Department is actively examining the case to allow the payment to be made as quickly as possible.

Animal Welfare

Questions (215)

Thomas Gould

Question:

215. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the funding provided to Cork City Council for the control of horses in each of the first six months of 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, in tabular form. [30182/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Under the Control of Horses Act 1996, Local Authorities may take a range of actions in relation to equines. My Department provides financial support to help Local Authorities to, among other activities, facilitate equine seizures.

Please see the below table which sets out details of funding provided to Cork City Council as supports towards the Control of Horses in each of the first six months of the years 2019 to 2024.

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
January	€0	€0	€0	€0	€0	€0
February	€0	€600.00	€0	€0	€2,100.00	€600.00
March	€375.00	€0	€0	€950.00	€0	€0
April	€0	€0	€0	€0	€0	€0
May	€0	€0	€0	€0	€1,375.00	€0
June	€2,200.00	€0	€575.00	€600.00	€0	€1,125.00
TOTAL	€2,575.00	€600.00	€575.00	€1,550.00	€3,475.00	€1,725.00

Animal Welfare

Questions (216)

Thomas Gould

Question:

216. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of horses seized under the Control of Horses Act 2015 in each of the past five years, in tabular form. [30200/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The number of horses seized under the Control of Horses Act 1996 in each of the past five years, based on the data provided to my Department by local authorities, is set out in the table below.

Horses Seized by Year	Amount
2019	1050
2020	819
2021	477
2022	326
2023	432

Covid-19 Pandemic

Questions (217)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

217. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the totality of the funds requested and drawn down by his Department from EU sources in respect of covid-19 in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form (details supplied). [30216/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The information requested by the Deputy is currently being collated. I will write to the Deputy directly once the information is to hand.

Animal Slaughtering

Questions (218)

Réada Cronin

Question:

218. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of licensed or certified slaughterhouses that were killing equines in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024; the names and locations of such operations, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30243/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

There was one approved Food Business Operator that was killing equines in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024. Details in the table below;

Year	Licensed or Certified slaughterhouses that were killing equines	Name and Location
2020	1	Shannonside Foods Ltd, Turnings, Straffan, Co Kildare
2021	1	Shannonside Foods Ltd, Turnings, Straffan, Co Kildare
2022	1	Shannonside Foods Ltd, Turnings, Straffan, Co Kildare
2023	1	Shannonside Foods Ltd, Turnings, Straffan, Co Kildare
January to June, 2024	1	Shannonside Foods Ltd, Turnings, Straffan, Co Kildare

Animal Slaughtering

Questions (219)

Réada Cronin

Question:

219. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide details of all the non-compliance issues cited at a company (details supplied) in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024; the number of non-compliance issues that involved welfare, and in each case, what kind; the number that were of passporting/identity, and in each case, what kind; the number that were of traceability and food safety, and in each case, what kind, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30244/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Some non-compliance issues in slaughter plants are dealt with and corrected on the spot. If an issue cannot be dealt with immediately or needs an escalated level of enforcement at a slaughter premises it is routinely recorded on a Non Compliance Report (NCR). The attached table details the number of NCRs issued by year to management at facility mentioned and the number of non compliant items identified on each report. The business operator is required to propose corrective action and a proposed completion date for each. The follow up and close out was in each case completed satisfactorily and this was verified by Department staff at the plant.

PQ30244 NCRs 2020-2024

Animal Slaughtering

Questions (220)

Réada Cronin

Question:

220. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide details of all the actions taken by a company (details supplied) and by his Department, to address and resolve non-compliance issues to the latter’s satisfaction, and to prevent a recurrence, particularly in the areas of welfare, passporting/ID, traceability and food safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30245/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

In the context of the Department's oversight of the adherence by Food Business Operators to legislative requirements, my inspectors identify non-compliances from time to time.

A range of enforcement measures are available to address non-compliances detected at slaughter plants.

These include : -Verbal DirectionsWritten Non Compliance ReportsWritten Compliance NoticeSuspension or revocation of approvalFixed Payment NoticeProsecution

The intervention chosen will relate to the type, extent and seriousness of the non-compliances detected.

In 2023, there are records of six written non-compliance reports issued relating to the business operator mentioned . All these non-compliances were investigated and resolved by the food business operator to the satisfaction of the Department.

The approval of the premises referred to is currently revoked and all slaughter activities have ceased.

Animal Slaughtering

Questions (221)

Réada Cronin

Question:

221. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the lairage of the abattoir at a company (details supplied) or the property reasonably considered by the public and media to be the lairage and to function as such and as shown on a television documentary – was previously licensed, but was subsequently taken out of an updated licence, be it to the company, any of its representatives or operatives; if so, the reason for its removal; the date of its removal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30246/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The conditional approval granted to the food premises mentioned was issued on 22/07/2015 . The application submitted by the applicant for this approval included an Ordinance Survey map which set out the area of the slaughter house holding which related to the application submitted. This highlighted its separation from the neighbouring farm and shed, including outlining a separate entrance.

Prior to this, when the facility was being operated by another operator, the neighbouring farm yard and shed had been used as an additional lairage facility associated with the slaughter plant. The application by the business operator mentioned, on which conditional approval was issued in 2015 clarified that it did not form part of the application for approval and therefore it did not form part of the approval at that time.

Animal Slaughtering

Questions (222)

Réada Cronin

Question:

222. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the basis on which his Department could give the impression to the Public Accounts Committee, and the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, that prior to the television documentary exposé, it had no concerns about a company (details supplied), beyond five welfare complaints, and give the further impression that it was shocked at, and disbelieving of, industry and company issues involving passports and microchips at all, given the company and named individuals are before the courts in legal actions taken by his Department, for example, for the discovery of multiple passports without horses and for forging details in horse passports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30247/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Five welfare complaints were received by my Department in relation to the farm adjacent to the slaughter premises mentioned from 2018 onwards. Four related to individual lame horses, and one related to horses in a waterlogged field following a period of heavy rain. All reports were investigated and in no case was a prosecution deemed appropriate. Nothing of the shocking nature and severity of the welfare abuses seen on the television footage had been seen or suspected prior to the airing of the programme.

In relation to equine traceability, there have been ongoing concerns in relation to equine traceability, both nationally and particularly across the EU with a number of investigations supported by Europol and which the Irish authorities provided support to. The controls that the Department applied in respect of equine identification and traceability responded to known and perceived risks. From 2013 onwards a series of measures have been taken in Ireland to improve equine traceability and to make the identification of equines more robust and less capable of manipulation. These measures include the introduction of a central equine database in 2013, improved security features on equine passports in 2014, a requirement to register equine premises in 2014, the introduction of an equine census in 2021, the launch of an online portal that allows for the checking of the validity of equine microchip numbers in 2023, and the provision of funding in 2023 to facilitate the roll-out of e-passport.

Despite these ongoing improvements it is clear at both national level and EU level that further measures are necessary to minimise the ability of those with a criminal intent from attempting to circumvent the system. When my Department or Gardaí find evidence of illegal activity in relation to equine identification they will bring forward cases for prosecution.

In advance of any events highlighted in the recent television programme, investigations led by my Department involving individuals connected to business mentioned and another Garda led investigation into other individuals have both progressed such that prosecution cases will shortly be heard before the courts. It would not be appropriate to comment any further on these matters at this time.

Animal Slaughtering

Questions (223)

Réada Cronin

Question:

223. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it is normal practice for a slaughterhouse to have 15 non-compliance reports in a calendar year, some week-on-week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30248/24]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

This is not unusual. Non compliance reports are a written record of inspection findings and areas identified for improvement or where corrective action is required.

• Written Answers Nos. 198-210
• Written Answers Nos. 224-235