Written Answers Nos. 457-476
458. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which the State ensures that retired greyhounds are not subject to neglect or poor conditions while awaiting adoption. [18018/26]
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.
The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for RCÉ and, therefore, the question has been referred to that body for direct reply.
467. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the schemes available to compensate farmers who have suffered substantial losses due to ash dieback; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18052/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe first confirmed finding of Ash Dieback Disease in Ireland was in 2012. My Department put measures in place and introduced the first reconstitution scheme in 2013 to help restore forests planted under the afforestation scheme which had been affected by this disease.
In July 2023 my Department launched the latest Reconstitution scheme for Ash Dieback under the new Forestry Programme 2023-27 with enhanced features which include:
• 100% increase in the site clearance grant rate to €2,000 per hectare.
• Enhanced replanting grant rates of €6,744 per hectare for native forests and €3,858 per hectare for mixed forests with Sitka spruce.
• A single top up premium for farmers equal to the difference between the equivalent forestry type and the existing premium for the remaining years left in premium.
An Independent Review Group was established in 2023 to review the supports available to Ash forest owners with Ash Dieback. The Group submitted a report with their findings to my Department and in response Government approval was secured for an Ash Dieback Action Plan.
This plan provides for an additional €79.5 million in funding to pay for a new Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP), which is available as a payment of €5,000 per hectare to forest owners who fully engage with my Department's reconstitution schemes and carry out replanting. This brings the total financial package of supports available to over €230 million.
Since the launch of the first supports In excess of €28 million in supports have been has been paid out to beneficiaries across both the Ash Dieback Reconstitution Schemes and CAPP.
My Department will deal with ash dieback fully before the end of the current Forestry Programme in 2027. I encourage anyone who has not yet applied for supports to apply immediately.
468. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department plans to engage staff from the private sector who work in accountancy and corporate law firms to work in his/her Department during the course of the upcoming EU Presidency term; the terms under which such staff will be engaged; the number of staff his Department plans to hire; the measures planned to guard against potential conflicts of interest between his/her Department and parent companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18078/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are no plans for the engagement of staff from private sector accountancy and law firms to support the delivery of my Department's EU Presidency agenda.
All expenditure will be incurred in accordance with the Public Spending Code, public procurement rules and relevant Government circulars. My Department will continue to seek to minimise costs where possible, including through the use of existing facilities and shared service arrangements.
469. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of equine premises numbers currently registered to premises located within urban or built-up areas, by local authority; the number of equines registered to such premises, by local authority; the number of equines recorded on his Department’s equine identification and registration systems as being located in urban or built-up areas that are not linked to a registered equine premises number; the number of reports and complaints received by An Garda Síochána relating to horses in urban or built-up areas in each of the past five years; the number of investigations initiated, animals seized, and prosecutions commenced arising from those reports, in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18162/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe application and processing of an equine premises registration number (EPRN) does not include an “urban/rural” classification field. Premises are recorded and assigned an EPRN for regulatory and traceability purposes. The database was not designed to categorise holdings by settlement type or planning designation. While the system does capture location coordinates, it is not possible to map EPRNs against a land use dataset in order to determine whether a premises falls within an urban boundary. Accordingly, my Department is not in a position to provide a reliable breakdown of equine premises and their associated horses by urban location.
My Department takes the matter of animal welfare most seriously and is committed to the enforcement of the Animal Health and Welfare Act, 2013. Prosecutions under the Act are pursued following investigations by authorised officers who investigate matters relating to animal cruelty and neglect. Offences under the Act may be prosecuted in the District Court by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, local authorities and members of An Garda Síochána. Matters tried on indictment are the remit of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the normal manner.
My Department does not hold records on complaints, investigations, seizures and prosecutions taken by An Garda Síochána.
I am committed to the policy that animal welfare standards are vigorously applied in a fair and even-handed manner. All reports of alleged animal neglect or cruelty received by my Department are investigated, and appropriate action is taken. If members of the public are aware of any cases of suspected abuse or neglect, they can contact my Department's animal welfare helpline on:
Helpline Phone No: 01 607 2379.
Email address: animalwelfare@agriculture.gov.ie.
470. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will designate Greencastle Harbour, County Donegal as a pelagic landing port for catches over ten tonnes. [18164/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Sea-Fisheries (Community Control System)(Amendment)(No. 2) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 638/2022), the following ports are currently designated for landings of pelagic species (including blue whiting) greater than 10 tonnes: An Daingean, Baltimore, Castletownbere, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros A Mhil.
I am advised that a key component of the SFPA Control Plan currently in force for pelagic landings is that of pre-transport, control-supervised weighing undertaken on publicly-owned weighbridges - which Greencastle port does not have at present.
Furthermore, there are significant practical and cost implications for the State in the designation of ports, in that, for any ports designated, Ireland is obliged to ensure that it has in place a meaningful control presence.
The current ports designated, and the opening days and times for those ports, were decided in order to allow vessels to continue to land into Irish ports, while ensuring that the SFPA has the capacity to continue to perform its vital control functions effectively.
In light of this, there are no current plans to designate Greencastle port in the manner suggested by the Deputy.
However, I would also like to assure the Deputy that the designation of ports for landings does not preclude vessels from coming into ports for force majeure reasons such as safe harbour.
471. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the recommendations in the Disability Action Plan (2024-2026) in relation to the provision of 900 additional residential care places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17931/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Children, Disability and Equality, alongside the HSE, is continuing to work to increase provision in order to assist those who are most vulnerable in our society, and who urgently require services.
The Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026 sets out a three-year programme designed to tackle the deficits highlighted in the Disability Capacity Review to 2032.
The service improvements which are planned over the 2024-26 period include:
• Around 900 additional residential care places to tackle unmet needs and ensure supply keeps pace with demographic change;
• 500 new community-based residential care places to replace disability care in large institutional and campus-based settings, with a view to ending that form of provision by 2030;
The 2025 Programme for Government commits to developing a multi-year capital plan for investment in residential and independent living options for both adults and children, and to tackle waiting lists for specialist disability services by implementation of the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-6, and resourcing and delivering on its targets.
The HSE, together with approximately 90 service providers are currently providing 8,911 residential places to people with disabilities.
From 2020 to 2025, 955 new residential places have been provided to people with disabilities. This includes 220 new places in 2024 and 246 new places provided in 2025.
As the Deputy may be aware, Budget 2026 provided funding of approximately €3.9 billion to Specialist Disability Services.
In addition to funding ongoing residential placements, €65 million has been allocated to Disability Residential Services in 2026 for new developments, which includes €40 million of funding that will provide in the region of 199 residential responses.
This includes 72 new planned placements and 80 new unplanned, urgent placements, a total of 152 new placements, as outlined in the HSE’s National Service Plan for 2026, which includes details of a move towards a more planned and responsive system of service provision and an increased emphasis on longer term planning for residential placements, with strengthened operational processes being put in place to respond to the current high demand. It also provides funding to support new residents in existing placements that have become vacant and require enhancement for complex medical conditions and in limited circumstances, placements in nursing home settings.
472. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the position regarding the full implementation of the recommendations in the Disability Action Plan (2024-2026); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17932/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026 represents the first phase of implementing the recommendations of the Disability Capacity Review to 2032. It sets out a range of several actions designed to provide better access to disability services. It intends to maximise the impact of service delivery through strategic change and to enable better planning and management through improved information and systems.
The Action Plan targets are reliant on a variety of dependencies to enable their delivery, such as funding, workforce, capacity at an organisational level within disability service providers. Progress achieved under the Action Plan is documented in progress reports, which are published on my Department's website and can be accessed here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/action-plan-for-disability-services-2024-2026-publications/.
The most recent progress report has been published and is available at the link below: https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/e2aab81b/4._Action_Plan_for_Disability_Services_2024-2026_End_of_Year_Report_2024.pdf.
Work is currently underway on the 2025 progress report.
473. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the steps being taken to ensure that children with complex disabilities can access specialised early-years placements where no appropriate service exists within their immediate CDNT catchment area; whether flexibility is permitted across CHO boundaries in such cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17934/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Education and Youth.
474. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in respect of her Department’s pre-2022 responsibility for disability services, to provide the total funding allocated by her Department towards the decongregation of disability service settings for all relevant years following the publication of the Time to Move on from Congregated Settings policy in 2011, in tabular form. [17979/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
475. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in respect of her Department’s pre-2022 responsibility for disability services, to provide the total funding spent by her Department, and agencies under its remit, in pursuit of the decongregation policy for disability residential services for all relevant years following the publication of the Time to Move on from Congregated Settings policy in 2011, in tabular form. [17980/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
476. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality in respect of her Department’s pre-2022 responsibility for disability services, to provide the total number of individual service users who have been relocated from congregated settings to community settings for all relevant years following the publication of the Time to Move on from Congregated Settings policy in 2011, in tabular form. [17981/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs this question refers to service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond to the Deputy directly.
