Written Answers Nos. 180-199
180. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount expended by Horse Racing Ireland, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board and Rásaíocht Con Éireann on external communications advice and or training for its senior leadership team in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024; the external companies engaged; and the topics or issues that the training or advices related to, in tabular form. [39323/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraRásaíocht 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.
Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001, and is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry.
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) is the regulatory body for all horseracing in Ireland. The IHRB is a company limited by guarantee. While the role of the IHRB as the regulatory body for horseracing is provided for in legislation, the body itself remains a private entity.
Relevant legislation also provides for a funding mechanism to be in place under which the costs of integrity services provided by the IHRB are guaranteed by HRI based on an agreed annual budget. A significant amount of the annual funding allocated to the IHRB from HRI, is derived from funding HRI itself receives from my Department via the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund (HGRF). Accordingly, formal oversight of the IHRB is maintained by HRI.
The question raised by the Deputy, including in respect of the IHRB, is an operational matter for both HRI and RCÉ, therefore, the question has been referred to the bodies for direct reply.
181. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of individual greyhound pups born in Ireland during the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, with a breakdown of coursing and non-coursing pups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39342/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Irish Coursing Club (ICC) is the organisation charged with the role of Keeper of the Irish Greyhound Stud Book (IGSB) since 1923. The Stud Book records pedigrees, ownerships, breeding data and transfers of ownership of all greyhounds. The ICC is subject to the general control and direction of Rásaíocht Con Éireann.
The ICC has informed my Department that in the period 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023, 8,758 track pups were born and 1,702 coursing pups were born. The ICC have advised that it is possible for either cohort to compete under both codes.
182. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a basic income support for sustainability and areas of natural constraint payments will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [39386/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application for participation in the 2024 Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS), Complementary Redistributive Support for Sustainability (CRISS), Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) and ECO schemes was received from the above-named applicant on 15 May 2024.
In 2024 the applicant has included new commonage lands in the townlands of Derrymore East and Derrymore West in County Kerry. All applicants on commonage lands are required to provide evidence in support of their claims and while documents have been received, including a lease and land folios, this has to be reviewed in conjunction with the Legal Service Division of my Department.
My Department will be in contact with the applicant in the coming weeks once the review is complete.
183. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Droimmeann cattle will be accepted as a rare breed for ACRES (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39416/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe persons named were approved into Tranche 1 of the Co-Operation stream of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES). The Rare Breeds action was chosen as part of the submitted application. However, the breeds selected were Dexter Cattle and Connemara Ponies. Droimeann Cattle was not selected in this application.
Unfortunately, once an application is submitted, it cannot be amended, as per Circular 6/2022 and 12/2022. Therefore, it will not be possible to add Droimeann Cattle to the application at this stage.
184. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if farm payments and all arrears will be paid to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39417/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn the past number of years, as a result of a family bereavement, a number of changes have been made in relation to the herd number linked to the above-named individual.
An application for the Basic Payment Scheme was submitted in 2021 and paid to the representatives of the holding in April and June 2022.
In 2022 an application was made under a temporary reference number. As per communication issued to the farmer in February 2024, to finalise payment for 2022, a linking request must be submitted by the applicant to ensure that the reference number is linked to the families herd number. Until this request is submitted payment cannot issue.
In 2023, a late application for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) was made on the 14th June 2023, after the closing date of the 29th May 2023. Applications received in the Department between the 30th May 2023 and the 23rd June 2023 are accepted, with a penalty. A penalty at a rate of 1% per late working day is applied. As the application was received on the 14th June, a late penalty of 11% was applicable to his application.
An application for the 2024 BISS application has been received. The above-named individual was sent a letter on 13th September regarding a transfer of entitlements and no further processing can take place until the requested information has been uploaded. As payment cannot take place with the stop in place, the information requested should be provided at the earliest opportunity.
185. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he remains satisfied that food and food products, with particular reference to meat imported into this country, are subject to the highest level of inspection, quality control, hygiene and husbandry, transport and sale in accordance with EU and Irish standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39455/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI remain satisfied with the levels of inspections and controls applied to imported food and food products.
Within the European Single Market uniform rules apply to the production of food, so that food placed on the European Market, be that within a Member State, traded between Member States, imported into the European Union, or exported from the European Union, meets the same husbandry, production, and hygienic requirements necessary to protect food safety, animal and plant health, and animal welfare standards.
To ensure consistency in application of these requirements, rules are laid down in a series of European Regulations, delegated and implementing acts. Rules relating to the official controls to be imposed on the importation into the EU of live animals and plants, as well as food of plant or animal origin, are laid down in European Regulation 2017/625.
To ensure compliance with these requirements in Ireland, DAFM operates four border control posts (BCPs) at Dublin Airport, Dublin Port, Rosslare Europort and Shannon Airport. At these BCPs, consignments from third countries undergo documentary, identity, and physical inspections to confirm they are in compliance with EU legislation. Consignments found not to comply with these requirements are rejected and are either destroyed, re-exported to the country of origin, or subjected to special treatment, in compliance with rules laid down in Regulation 2017/625.
In 2023, DAFM carried out in excess of 71,000 import controls across the four BCPs with 85% consignments coming from GB; the overall levels of non-compliance were very low (<1%).
186. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of dairy and meat products that have been imported into this jurisdiction in each of the past five years to date, by volume and value; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39456/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraOver the five-year period, 2019 to 2023, the volume of dairy imports fell from 1,046,533 tonnes to 975,484 tonnes, a decrease of 6.8%, while the value of dairy imports increased from €1,055.8 million to €1,167.3 million, an increase of 16.1%.
For the purposes of agrifood trade data, meat comprises the categories of beef, sheepmeat, pigmeat and poultry.
The volume of beef imported increased from 30,213 tonnes in 2019 to 36,568 tonnes in 2023, an increase of 21.5%. The value of beef imports increased by 55.3% over the five-year period, from €128.9 million in 2019 to €200.3 million in 2023.
The volume of sheepmeat imports decreased from 6,650 tonnes in 2019 to 5,494 tonnes in 2023, a fall of 17.4%. The value of sheepmeat imports fell by 1.5% over the same period, from €35.8 million to €35.3 million.
The volume of pigmeat imports decreased between 2019 and 2023, from 99,342 tonnes to 78,681 tonnes, a fall of 20.8%. The value of pigmeat imports increased by 4.1%, from €343.7 million to €357.8 million, in the same period.
The volume of poultry imports increased by 7.3% between 2019 and 2023, from 134,330 tonnes to 144,114 tonnes. The value of poultry imports rose by 20.8%, from €478.4 million to €578.1 million, over the same period.
It is important to consider agrifood imports in the context of corresponding exports. In 2023, Ireland recorded an agrifood trade surplus of €5.25 billion in dairy produce; €2.79 billion in beef; €525 million in pigmeat; and €384 million in sheepmeat.
A spreadsheet is attached for the Deputy's information, which includes a full breakdown of the value and volume for dairy produce, beef, pigmeat, sheepmeat and poultry imports for full years 2019 to 2023, and for the comparative period January to July 2020 to 2024, which represents the latest trade data available from the Central Statistics Office. The preliminary trade data for full-year 2024 is expected to be available in mid-February 2025.
187. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he is taking to provide respite services for disabled people in County Cork. [39322/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Cork Regional Children’s Respite Forum, established in 2022, manages referrals and the allocation of respite and/or home supports for children, with complex disabilities, up to the age of 18 years and who are in receipt of services from a CDNT. Children’s Disability Services are acutely aware of the demand for respite services and has significantly invested in respite services in recent years.
The Cork children’s respite forum has received a total of 507 applications between April 2023 and September 2024. Of this total, 116 were re-applications for additional 6 week blocks of respite. The waiting list of children to receive a respite service for the first time through the forum was 52 as at September, 2024.
Cork Kerry Disability Services has commissioned respite from the Rainbow Club who are currently providing 6 week blocks of respite services in the Cork area. The Rainbow Club provides for after-school supports, social groups, teen supports, adapted sports and additional activities on Saturdays. It is estimated that approximately 4,000 hours will be delivered in 2024.
In Cork, overnight respite services for children under 18 years of age with an intellectual disability, physical disability or autism are delivered by a range of organisations: namely, Cope Foundation, Enable Ireland, St. Josephs Foundation, CoAction and the Brothers of Charity. There are a total of 29 beds.
In 2023 CKCH provided funding to Enable Ireland to increase respite for children in the Lavanagh Centre, Curraheen. This resulted in an increase in bed nights from 138 bed nights in early 2023 to an expected 552 bed nights per annum from 2024 onwards.
There is also a number of sessions of day respite provided to children which consists of a centre based day and outreach services for children. Day respite is provided in a variety of ways and settings such as in the home, in the community, during holiday time, as home share with host families and through after school services.
Residential respite services for adults in Cork is delivered by Brothers of Charity, COPE Foundation, St Joseph’s Foundation, CoAction, Enable Ireland, RehabCare and Abode. 88 residential respite beds comprising 28 full time places and 60 part-time places are provided.
Cork Kerry Community Healthcare’s Disability Services have worked to improve access to residential (overnight) respite services for adults with disabilities in Cork in recent years. This has resulted in the establishment of a regional respite house for those residing in Cork which provides 5 beds on a full-time basis.
CKCH continues to invest in respite services, proactively seek alternative respite models and utilise all available funding to provide respite services for all children and adults who require them. CKCH are working with service providers to create new residential and alternative respite supports for children and adults in 2024.
188. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when parents can expect to receive an ASD assessment through the HSE for their child (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39231/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra189. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the person responsible for an ASD assessment for a child (details supplied); to provide contact details for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39232/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 189 together.
As this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
190. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of WTE on-site school therapists, by grade, operating in each special school in Dublin in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [39247/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
191. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the locations within CHO7 where community specialist teams are based, in tabular form. [39249/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
192. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the locations within CHO9 where community specialist teams are based, in tabular form. [39250/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
193. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps he is taking to ensure that early childhood education and childcare services are able to deal with increasing costs, particularly energy costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39268/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe introduction of Core Funding in 2022 brought a significant increase in investment for the sector, with €259 million of funding paid directly to services in year 1 of the scheme, of which €210.8 million was entirely new funding.
This funding, which increased by 11% (to €287 million) in year 2, will increase again by another 15% in year 3 (to €331 million). This facilitates the following changes from 2 September:
• The Base Rates for all age groups are increasing with larger increases in funding for places offered to children under the age of three. All providers currently signed up to Core Funding will receive a higher payment going forward to support their day-to-day costs.
• The flat rate for services registered on the Tusla Early Years Register as sessional-only is increasing from €4,075 to €5,000. This will strengthen supports to sessional-only services, who typically operate for shorter hours per week and fewer weeks per year.
• The minimum Base Rate allocation is increasing from €8,150 to €14,000. This is the minimum amount of funding a centre-based service will receive through their Base Rate. This ensures a minimum guaranteed income for services. This increase supports for smaller services and services operating in rural areas, who may be prone to fluctuations in demand.
Additionally, there has been changes in the Fee Management conditions of the scheme.
Up to now, services availing of Core Funding have not been allowed to raise their fees above what was charged to parents on 30 September 2021 (or at the point of first signing up for Core Funding if the service did not exist on 30 September 2021).
The fee freeze will remain in place for the majority of these services for year 3 of Core Funding, though services whose fees have been frozen at a level that may not be sufficient to sustain their business even with increased funding available through Core Funding, will have the opportunity to apply for a Fee Increase Assessment. Only services currently charging low fees (fees below the average in their county) will be eligible to apply and the onus will be on the provider to demonstrate a need for a fee increase. Any approved fee increases will not go above the increased universal NCS subsidy that a parent would be receiving for the full hours offered within the fee. This means that parents receiving the universal NCS subsidy for the full hours offered in these services will not face higher costs.
194. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the proportion of respite places (day and night) available in CHO9 compared to the other CHO areas for 2023, based on population data from the 2022 census; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39289/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
195. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the amount expended by TUSLA on external communications advice or training for its senior leadership team in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024; the external companies engaged; and the topics or issues that the training or advices related to, in tabular form. [39324/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince Tusla was established, its Communications Section has engaged external communications services solely for providing specific expertise in supporting campaigns, projects and events as needed.
The table below outlines the costs and descriptions of the services provided for the years requested
|
Year |
Amount Spent |
Service/Topics Covered |
|
2022 |
Nil |
N/A |
|
2023 |
€8,315 |
Specialised support for senior personnel involved in the response to the HSE/Tusla cyberattack, to support the announcement of the notification process following the incident. Development of an internal engagement strategy following the Tusla staff sentiment survey, in line with the Tusla's People and Change Strategy (2022-2024) |
|
2024 |
€11,800 |
To assist the Communications Section in Developing a Communications Strategy for 2025-2027 |
196. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the funding available for family resource centres (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39367/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am pleased to inform the Deputy that I secured an additional €800,000 in Budget 2025 for the Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme. I expect this additional funding will allow for expansion of the FRC Programme membership from 121 members to 126 members, an increase in 5 FRCs across the country.
This is in addition to the funding equalisation scheme for existing FRCs that I announced in April this year. Under the funding equalisation scheme, the FRC Programme received additional core funding in 2024, resulting in all FRCs receiving at least €160,000 in core funding from 2025 onwards. This funding will support the pivotal role FRCs play in so many communities across the country by providing a comprehensive range of services tailored to individual community needs. Of course, in addition to core funding, FRCs draw on various sources of funding provided by other Government Departments, agencies and private sources.
My Department allocates core funding for the FRC Programme through Tusla, and Tusla administers the FRC Programme which supports the existing FRCs throughout the country. The additional core funding will be allocated to Tusla to administer.
197. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to provide a report on the number of sanctioned whole-time posts across CDNTs in September 2020, September 2021, September 2022, September 2023 and September 2024; details of whether these posts are filled or vacant and, broken down by CHO and discipline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39409/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
198. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if the scheme for registration with Tusla and access to the national childcare scheme is open to persons who care for a child in the child’s own home, and if he will make provision for their inclusion. [39411/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Childcare Support Act 2018, which provides a statutory basis for the National Childcare Scheme, specifies that only Tusla-registered providers are eligible to participate in the Scheme. The limitation of public funding schemes to Tusla-registered childcare providers helps to ensure that public funding is provided where there is assurance of the quality of provision.
The National Action Plan for Childminding 2021-2028, which I launched in April 2021, set out a pathway for the extension of registration to childminders who work in their own homes. A key objective of the National Action Plan for Childminding is to enable parents who use childminders to benefit from State subsidies through the National Childcare Scheme. As a result of the Child Care Act 2024 and the Childminding Services Regulations, which came into effect on 30 September, childminders are now able to apply to register with Tusla and can therefore also take part in the National Childcare Scheme.
The National Action Plan for Childminding distinguishes childminding which involves care in the childminder’s home from care that takes place in the child’s home, which may be carried out by a nanny, an au pair or a babysitter. The employment relationship and the legal and regulatory context are different. Whereas a childminder working from the childminder’s own home is self-employed and offers a service that may be accessed on a public basis, someone caring for a child in the child’s own home is regarded as an employee of the child’s parents. In addition, the employment of someone in the child’s home may involve a combination of caring with other roles, e.g. cleaning or other domestic duties. Furthermore, because they work in the parents’/child’s home rather than their own home, au pairs and nannies cannot be held responsible for the safety or suitability of that home for the purpose of early learning or childcare. For these reasons, the Childminding Services Regulations do not apply to the care of a child by a nanny or au pair.
Currently there are no plans to bring nannies/au pairs into the scope of registration, or the National Childcare scheme.
199. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will consider increasing youth work funding to pre-austerity levels, adjusted for inflation and population growth, including costs for pay parity for youth workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39440/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraFrom 2020 to 2024, current Exchequer funding provided by my Department for youth services and programmes increased from €61.79 million to €77.95 million, a 26% increase overall.
In respect of Budget 2025, I have secured a further significant increase to existing youth schemes to .€84.79 million This increased allocation will support the expansion of both targeted and universal services for young people, including the opening of 10 new UBU youth services. I have also secured additional funding to address holiday hunger among young people accessing youth services.
On the matter of pay parity for youth workers, my Department does not directly employ youth workers. Rather, funding is allocated on a 'provision of service' basis to meet the needs of the youth population in an area. The employment of staff including youth workers is a matter for the relevant youth organisations and services in receipt of funding.
