Written Answers Nos. 191 - 198
191. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the current 100% replacement capacity rule operated by his Department (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18661/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003, the functions of sea-fishing boat licensing were transferred from the Minister to the Licensing Authority for Sea-fishing Boats, which operates on an independent basis subject to criteria set out in that Act and Ministerial Policy Directives. All applications for sea-fishing boat licences are considered by the Licensing Authority.
As Minister I have responsibility for policy in relation to sea-fishing boat licensing under Section 3(3) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003, as amended by Section 99 of the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006. In this context and, as referred to above, Section 3 of the Act makes provision for Ministerial Policy Directives to issue to the independent Licensing Authority for Sea-fishing Boats. I am, however, precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to individual cases, or a group of cases, with which the Licensing Authority is or may be concerned under Section 3(5) of the 2003 Act.
In relation to policy, the 100% capacity rule referred to by the Deputy is laid down in Regulation (EU) 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which came into force on 1 January 2014 and which requires that the entry of new capacity into Member States’ fleets must be compensated by the previous withdrawal of at least the same amount of capacity. This is known as the “Entry/Exit” regime.
Safety Tonnage was a provision of the previous Regulation (EC) 2371/2002 on the CFP, which allowed for an increase in the gross tonnage of a fishing vessel which was not subject to the “Entry/Exit Regime” referred to above, where the increase in gross tonnage resulted exclusively from modifications to improve safety on board, working conditions, hygiene or product quality but did not increase the fishing effort of the vessel. As the Deputy is aware, there is no provision for Safety Tonnage in the current CFP Regulation, 1380/2013. Therefore, any increases in vessel capacity (for whatever purpose) must be balanced with the provision of the equivalent amount of replacement capacity.
I have received proposals from a Producer Organisation (PO) in relation to replacement capacity for certain ring-fenced fisheries. In summary, these proposals relate to the possibility of reducing the requirement to provide 100% replacement capacity with the relevant track record to 80% (the balance being sourced from capacity without track record). The Deputy will appreciate that any amendments to current licensing policy such as these have to be carefully considered and analysed. I am committed to examining these proposals in detail and, in this regard, Department officials are at present examining thoroughly the potential impacts of these proposals on fleet policy. This process involves, inter alia, an evaluation and impact analysis and is ongoing currently.
Once the analysis is completed, my Department proposes to circulate a paper incorporating these proposals to POs for their views. Depending on the views received from the POs, a decision will then be made on whether the matter goes to full consultation with all stakeholders.
192. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the €15,000 cashflow loan proposal to farmers who experienced financial difficulties as a result of the milk superlevy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18682/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am fully aware of the pressures on farmers right now and I have committed to working with all the stakeholders, both at national and EU level, to address these issues and ensure that we continue to have a sustainable and resilient sector. One of my priorities is to support the provision of lower-cost, more flexible finance for the sector. Access to finance was discussed at the Dairy Forum on 21 June, with an exchange of views with the main banks now a part of the agenda at each meeting. Before the meeting I formally launched the Dairy Forum’s ’Financial Management Initiative’, a programme of cash flow and financial management training and advice for dairy farmers. I believe that equipping farmers with better financial planning skills is essential and I am encouraging all farmers to engage with this initiative.
Access to finance was also discussed at the meeting of the Food Wise 2025 High Level Implementation Committee earlier this month which I chaired. This meeting was a good engagement with representatives of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and the Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF). Both are now active in the market and my Department, in cooperation with all the other State bodies, will continue to explore additional funding mechanisms for farmers, the agri-food sector and for SMEs generally.
I also recently met with the CEOs of the main banks and stressed the need for them to be flexible in the context of increased income volatility. The banks assure me that they recognise and are responding to the challenges facing farmers in this regard. In addition, my Department is about to publish a request for tender to procure an ex-ante assessment to assess any current failures in the access to finance market in Ireland. This is a first step towards the potential introduction of Financial Instruments under the Rural Development Programme.
With specific reference to the more flexible State aid support announced by the EU Commission, I am working with all the financial institutions, particularly SBCI, to identify new solutions to working capital finance for farmers experiencing liquidity gaps. At this week’s Council of Agriculture Ministers meeting I asked the Commissioner to consider the deployment of a further targeted aid package, similar to that provided last September which gave considerable flexibility to Member States to adopt responses suited to their national circumstances, and I believe such a measure could play a further important role in 2016. The key word here is flexibility and I have called on the Commission to provide flexibility for MS to deploy the targeted aid in accordance with their needs.
193. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to make further funding allocations available in 2016 for Waterford City and County Council towards the energy bureau of Waterford Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18620/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra194. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if and when he will make funding available under energy efficiency and renewable energy technology for a project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18622/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 193 and 194 together.
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) administers the Better Energy Communities scheme on behalf of my Department. This scheme aims to support and encourage community based partnerships to improve the energy efficiency of homes, businesses and community facilities in a local area. Local Authorities actively participate in this scheme. To date the scheme has supported the upgrade of more than 12,000 homes and several hundred shared community facilities, including sports clubs, community centres and childcare facilities.
Under this year's scheme, €20 million in grant support has been awarded to 38 community groups. This will provide for energy efficiency upgrades to more than 2,600 homes and almost 300 community and commercial facilities. The total investment in energy efficiency, including funding from local communities themselves, is almost €48 million, which will support an estimated 700 direct and indirect jobs right across the country.
If the Deputy is referring to the application made by Waterford Energy Bureau, on behalf of Waterford City and County Council, for funding under this year's Better Energy Communities scheme, I would like to note that SEAI have informed me that their application was high quality but was unfortunately unsuccessful due to the very high standard of applications.
All applications to the Better Energy Communities Scheme are assessed in a competitive process operated by SEAI and neither I, nor my Department, have any function in relation to the evaluation or selection of projects. This competitive process is fully transparent and I would urge any unsuccessful applicants to contact SEAI directly for feedback in relation to their application, which may assist in any future applications for support.
Any homes that are owned by an approved housing association, such as the Saint Vincent de Paul, are eligible for inclusion in the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme, which, based on defined eligibility criteria, provides a range of energy efficiency measures to low income households vulnerable to energy poverty. The homes of the scheme beneficiaries are retrofitted free of charge, thus making those homes more energy efficient. The measures available include draught proofing, attic insulation, lagging jackets for hot water tanks, low energy light bulbs and cavity wall insulation. Since the scheme commenced in 2000, 123,174 homes around the country have received energy efficiency measures at a cost to the Exchequer of €161.75m. €16.5m has been allocated to the scheme for 2016.
195. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if there is a cost differential to the State in defining a minimum 100 Mbps broadband speed rather than a 30 Mbps broadband speed for the roll-out of the national broadband plan; and, if so, what is that differential. [18637/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. Delivery of high speed broadband is a strategic priority under the Programme for a Partnership Government. This is being achieved through private investment by commercial telecommunications companies and through a State intervention in areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming.
The State intervention to address the identified deficit in access to High Speed Broadband in Ireland was guided by a set of intervention principles that are aligned with the State Aid Guidelines (SAG) namely:
- technology neutrality
- use of existing infrastructure
- effective wholesale access
- step change in broadband availability
- step change in broadband customer experience
- future-proofed technology.
In order to assess the case for intervention the Department conducted detailed cost modelling and financial appraisal models over very complex design simulations. The costings and key assumptions have been used to design the National Broadband Plan (NBP) Intervention Strategy. These key assumptions form part of the bid evaluation within the procurement process and if publically made known would undermine the integrity of a competitive procurement process.
The Broadband Intervention strategy for Ireland available on my Department's website sets out a detailed service specification including a requirement that the State-funded network must:
- be capable of delivering high-quality, high speed broadband of at least 30mbps download and 6mbps upload to all citizens.
- be capable of catering for higher performance in the future so as to keep pace with consumer demand.
- ensure the availability of high quality wholesale services to allow retail competition to develop
The emphasis therefore is on putting in place a high quality infrastructure network capable of being scaled up to meet current and future demand, with 30Mbps as a minimum rather than a ceiling for consumers.
In addition, the intervention strategy also requires measures to meet the specific needs of businesses as well as ensuring scalability in terms of future anticipated growth in demand for bandwidth. Bidder(s) will therefore be invited to put forward minimum speeds for businesses, which can be built into the service standards of the winning bidder(s) contract. The winning bidder(s) network will be subject to periodic reviews on a 3-5 year basis to ensure that it is keeping pace with demand.
196. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of staff employed to deliver the tendering stage of the national broadband plan within his Department. [18638/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for a Partnership Government commits to the delivery of High Speed Broadband under the National Broadband Plan (NBP) as a matter of priority. This is being achieved through private investment by commercial telecommunications companies and through a State intervention under the National Broadband Plan (NBP) in areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming. The National Broadband Team oversees the delivery of every aspect of the NBP including:
- Mapping of the areas where commercial services are available and monitoring of commercial rollout
- Addressing barriers to commercial rollout
- Development of the detailed intervention strategy under the NBP
- Analysis of ownership options
- Detailed Cost modelling
- cost benefit analysis
- Analysis of funding option
- Analysis of Governance requirements
- Environmental requirements
- The on-going State Aid Notification process with EU DG Competition
- Development of Procurement documentation and delivery of a complex procurement process involving extensive dialogue with commercial telecoms operators.
- Establishing a Taskforce on mobile phone and broadband coverage
- Developing proposals for an entity to manage State telecoms contracts
- Liaising with the telecommunications regulator, ComReg, and the European Commission on regulatory measures relating to high speed broadband rollout.
Each strand of the NBP intervention strategy has been carefully designed and developed in consultation with industry and other stakeholders in order to deliver the highest level of broadband access in the most effective and cost efficient way.
The NBP Team works across all strands of this major policy area, and comprises approximately 20 full-time equivalent personnel, including expert staff seconded from the telecoms regulator, ComReg. The Team is fully supported by external professional expertise including technical, commercial, economic, legal, environmental and financial, to assist in the delivery of the project. A dedicated Steering Group and Procurement Board is also in place to provide input on the overall strategy and on the procurement process. The size of the team varies from time to time, according to the specific needs of the project and is scaled up or down as necessary.
The delivery of the procurement phase of the NBP involves input from all team members working on the project phases which includes: -
- Step 1: Publication of the Pre-qualification Questionnaire – this step was launched on 22 December 2015.
- Step 2: Five responses were received to this stage of the process, by the deadline of 31 March (which was extended by one month, from 29 February to 31 March at the request of bidders).
- Step 3: Qualified bidders will be invited to commence dialogue (Invitation to Participate in Dialogue). This is scheduled to commence over the coming weeks and will take a number of months;
- Step 4: Bidders will be invited to submit detailed solutions for further dialogue (Invitation to submit detailed solutions);
- Step 4a Bidders will then submit detailed solutions for evaluation;
- Step 5: Bidders will be invited to submit final, formal tenders following further dialogue
- Step 5a: Bidders submit formal tenders;
- Step 6: Formal tenders submitted by qualified bidders will be evaluated.
- Step 7: Preferred bidder(s) identified
- Step 8: 25 year contract awarded – June 2017.
The timing of each stage of the procurement is dependent on a number of factors including the number of bidders short-listed and the complexities that may be encountered during the dialogue process. It is expected that contract(s) will be awarded in June 2017.
As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best rollout strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and/or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network rollout plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht. A detailed rollout plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
This ambitious project aims to conclusively address broadband connectivity issues across Ireland and the procurement process aims to secure contractor(s) to build a network that will cover 100,000km of road, and 96% of the land area of Ireland, most of which comprises rural areas. A project of this magnitude needs to be resourced appropriately and I am confident that my Department has put in place an experienced, and appropriately skilled team to manage the ongoing strategy development and procurement process, both of which are inextricably linked.
197. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will change the terms of reference for the tendering of the licence for the processing of driving licences in order that the post office network could apply for the contract; if this would fit in with the Government's aim to promote the post office network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18570/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe operation of the National Driver Licensing Service (NDLS) is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
The NDLS consists of a central unit in the RSA and three outsourced providers, a card producer, a front office for engaging with the public, and a back office for processing applications. All three were opened for tender by the RSA during the establishment of the NDLS, and my Department had no role in the process.
I understand that An Post did tender for the front office service during the last tender process but was not successful. An Post may also apply in any future tendering process.
198. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of repair works to roads, bridges and public property in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18753/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area is a statutory function of local authorities in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of projects to be funded from these monies is a matter for each local authority.
In addition to the 2016 regional and local road allocations announced in January this year, my predecessor announced a further €85m in additional funding for regional and local roads in February this year as part of the Tranche 1 funding to local authorities to remedy damage caused by severe weather. On 27 May I approved a further allocation under Tranche 2 of the severe weather funding to local authorities as notified through Circular RW 9/2016. All available funding for 2016 has now been allocated.
When allocating grant funding my Department has emphasised that the commitment of local authorities to contribute significantly from their own resources towards the cost of improving and maintaining the regional and local roads network is essential and that full consideration needs to be given to utilising the Local Property Tax to boost own resources expenditure on regional and local road maintenance and renewal.
