May 19, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Finance if he will increase the maximum floor area of eligible buildings under the Living City Initiative, in view of concerns that the cap of 210 square metres per project will exclude many pre-1915 properties within the designated areas.
  
REPLY (Minister Michael Noonan):
The Living City Initiative is a targeted tax incentive aimed at the regeneration of houses in the parts of the inner cities which are most in need of regeneration. The residential element of the relief was initially targeted at Georgian houses but the scope was later extended to buildings which were constructed before 1915 for use as a dwelling, following an independent ex ante cost benefit analysis by Indecon Economic Consultants. 

Previous owner occupier and section 23 type schemes had a maximum floor area limit of 125 square metres. The Living City Initiative limit of 210 square metres is larger than previous schemes to take account of the fact that some pre-1915 houses tended to be constructed on a grander scale.  

In addition, it is important to note that "house" includes any building or part of a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling. Many of the larger houses in the Special Regeneration Areas have been split into units, for example, there may be a commercial premises on the ground floor with a residential premises on the upper floors, or a house may be divided into a number of residential apartments. In that case, expenditure incurred on the unit that the owner occupies as his sole or main residence should qualify for relief where the necessary conditions are met. 

As the scheme rolls out over the coming months, all aspects of it will be kept under review. It is important to note that I do not see this as a wide-spread Initiative, as it is targeted at regenerating those areas which are most in need of attention.

May 6, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is satisfied Teagasc is and will be sufficiently resourced to deliver adequate research and advisory services for the tillage sector considering the demands placed on it by the new EU greening requirements; and if he will provide a breakdown of Teagasc staff currently dedicated to tillage farming by advisory region.
 
REPLY (Minister Simon Coveney) 
Whilst the moratorium impacted on staff levels, Teagasc retain a complement of over 1,150 staff who deliver research, advisory and education services to the agriculture and food sectors. The distribution of staff is an operational matter for Teagasc. 

In light of the constraints on recruitment, Teagasc is re-configuring the way in which it delivers services to farmers through greater use of discussion groups and by leveraging more external resources through sub contracting certain activities to private providers. For example, they recently engaged an external strategic partner (FRS) to deliver GLAS planning services to Teagasc clients. 

My Department continues to work closely with Teagasc to evaluate requests for mission critical appointments. Over 50 permanent appointments were authorised outside the moratorium since 2009. 

A further exception to the moratorium permits Teagasc to recruit ‘non grant in aid’ funded contractors. They currently employ 190 contractors working predominately in research and advisory services. Priority has also been accorded to the recruitment of 20 temporary teachers to meet the exceptional demand for Green Cert courses from young farmers. 

It is anticipated that the new Delegated Sanction arrangements may provide greater discretion to Government Departments and state agencies over staffing levels, but strictly within an overall pay framework. 

Those arrangements are currently being considered in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform . Within the parameters of that over arching policy, the question of where posts are filled remains an operational matter for Teagasc. 

May 6, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to assist barley growers to develop their production, as a local raw material source for existing and future micro-breweries and distilleries within Ireland; and if he will provide an overview of the current size and potential of this segment.
 
REPLY (Minister Simon Coveney) 
Malting barley production is a valuable and important sector within the agri-food industry. Current production of malt in Ireland is in the region of 120,000 tonnes from 160,000 tonnes plus of contracted malting barley.  

Future prospects are very positive, primarily due to the growth of Irish Whiskey exports and interest in craft beers which is driving growth in micro-breweries.  

The Tillage Sector Development Plan published in 2012 identified the potential for growth of the malting sector and an opportunity to expand production of native malting barley by upwards of 100,000 tonnes over time.  

The extent of any increase will depend on the sustainability of the supply chain and on building strong relationships with customers and markets.   
  
Work is underway on developing an industry-led agri-food development strategy to succeed Food Harvest 2020 and this includes assessing the prospects for individual sectors and which measures would best promote sustained growth and a strong supply chain. 

May 6, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will allocate resources to expedite the processing of long-standing aquaculture licence applications within the Waterford Estuary once the Appropriate Assessment phase is completed, in view of the fact that such licences are required to access vital capital grant assistance.
 
REPLY (Minister Simon Coveney) 
My Department is working with the Marine Institute, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to achieve full compliance with the EU Birds and Habitats Directives through a multi-annual work programme. 

This programme requires the gathering of the necessary baseline data appropriate to the Conservation Objectives of aquaculture sites located within designated Natura areas. 

This data collection programme, which is substantially complete, together with the setting of Conservation Objectives, will enable all new and renewal aquaculture applications to be assessed for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the EU Birds and Habitats Directives. 

An Appropriate Assessment has to be carried out before any aquaculture licensing determination may be made in respect of aquaculture applications for sites in designated Natura areas. 

The Appropriate Assessment process in respect of the Waterford Estuary, which is located within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), is expected to be completed by the Marine Institute in mid / late summer 2015 . 

When completed, my Department will examine the outcomes of the Appropriate Assessment with a view to formulating policy recommendations in respect of individual licences held by operators in the Estuary. 

Such policy recommendations will reflect full engineering, scientific, environmental, legal and public policy aspects of each licence application. 

The Appropriate Assessment process represents a significant financial, administrative and scientific investment by the State in resolving this issue.  

My Department continues to make every effort to expedite the determination of all aquaculture applications having regard to the complexities of each case and the need to comply fully with all national and EU legislation. 

May 6, 2015
Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the schemes, supports, or strategies that are in place to assist tillage producers in view of the pressure on margins arising from the sharp reduction in crop prices, rising input costs and land rental values, and compliance with new EU environmental regulations.
 
REPLY (Minister Simon Coveney) 
The tillage sector makes a key contribution to the agri-food industry directly through provision of high quality, native grown ingredients to support the development of the livestock, food and drinks sector. 

Indigenous production of cereals is of course, an important part of primary agriculture production. In addition to generating an income for our tillage farmers, the cereals sector is a key source of seed production, grain for the milling and malting industry and feeding stuffs for the livestock sector. 

The long-term average cereal production in Ireland is in the region of 2.2 million tonnes per annum and it is desirable to sustain this level of production in order to avoid over dependence on imported cereals. 
  
The 2014 harvest was estimated in the region of 2.5 million tonnes, well above the long-term average production of 2.2 million tonnes. Since Ireland is a deficit market for cereals, prices here are greatly affected by world prices and supplies. 

Cereal prices are highly sensitive to global supply and demand , and volatility in prices is likely to become a constant feature of Irish cereal prices in future and grain producers should factor such fluctuations into their planning and marketing strategies. 
  
Fertilisers may constitute up to 50% of input costs for tillage farms, and despite the decrease in the cost of fuel, prices are expected to remain high due to tight world supplies and the falling fertiliser manufacturing capacity in Europe over the past 10 years. 

World fertiliser supply is tightly matched to demand for 2015 and for the foreseeable future and it is anticipated that world demand will continue to increase into the future, maintaining upward pressure on prices to the final consumer in Ireland.
 
The fall in the value of the euro against the dollar is also exerting upward pressure on prices. Teagasc estimates that fertiliser costs for Irish farmers will be similar for 2015 to 2014. 
  
Food Harvest 2020 outlined a number of challenges facing the cereal sector in the coming years including price volatility, climatic and disease issues, high input prices, small and fragmented holdings and the cost of rented land. 

However, the report also pointed to positive projections for cereal prices as markets are relatively well-balanced and world cereal prices are projected to be higher than in the last decade. It is known that global grain production is struggling to meet the increasing demand for food, feed and industrial uses. 

In addition to a rising global population creating a bigger demand for cereals, an increasing demand for meat is disproportionately increasing grain demand even further. 
  
The primary growth in requirement for Irish cereals in the years ahead is likely to be for animal feed, given the targets for increased livestock output proposed in Food Harvest 2020 and the recent lifting of milk quotas which is expected to give rise to a considerable expansion in the dairy herd, as well as an increased level of feeding and production per livestock unit. 

However, considerable potential also exists in grains for the drink industry such as malting barley and recent significant investments by the large brewing and distilling companies here in Ireland are proof of such potential. 

Further, it is envisaged that there will be increased demand for Irish oats milled for human food for the home and export markets and in this context, the success of the Agribusiness sector in securing, long-term contracts with US-based Foods companies to supply milled Irish oats to a premium Irish oatmeal brand in the US market, is particularly welcome. 
  
A consistent supply of protein, grown in Ireland, would give Irish livestock farmers the opportunity to use more natively produced protein feed and to access higher valued markets. Accordingly, I am pleased to confirm that from this year I have introduced a protein coupled aid scheme to expand production of protein crops. 

The rate of payment per hectare will be €250 /ha with a ceiling of €3 million for any scheme year. The protein crops eligible for aid are peas, beans and sweet lupins. Protein crops will also qualify under the CAP Reform Agreement as Ecological Focus Areas to meet environmental sustainability requirements. 
  
Further support for tillage farmers will be available through the provision of a Knowledge Transfer measure under the Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020. 

I anticipate that the formation and administration of knowledge transfer groups a cross the Beef, Dairy and Equine sectors in 2015 will extend to cover the Poultry, Sheep and Tillage sectors in 2016. 

The innovative scheme design of this measure will focus on key issues that affect profitability and sustainability of the farm enterprise. Other important issues such as farm safety and farm progression will also be covered by the measure. 
  
My Department also operates a range of services aimed at improving the level of production, quality and viability of the Irish cereal sector. 

These services include seed certification, seed testing, variety testing and the publication of recommended lists of varieties, research funding through the ‘Stimulus’ competitive research programme and funding for the quality assurance scheme. 

In addition, Teagasc provides research, training and advisory services for cereal producers.