Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have pieces of paper all around me. My apologies to Deputy Martin Kenny who raised an issue about aquaculture licensing, an issue to which Deputy Thomas Pringle alluded. If I do not have some of the data I will get back to the Deputy. My understanding of the issue around aquaculture licences is that much of the difficulty we face arose from a European Court of Justice decision in 2007. Since that time we have been endeavouring to meet the terms of that European Court of Justice ruling. To date, the necessary appropriate assessments have been completed under the habitats directive in respect of 509 licence applications and assessment is pending in respect of 328 applications. I am considering whether a review of the licensing arrangements is needed. I acknowledge that in respect of the potential of aquaculture, we are only scratching the surface. Deputy Pringle will be aware of the significant potential that offers as an industry. Statistics brought to my attention graphically illustrate this in respect of farmed salmon. Off the coast of Norway, 1 million tonnes of farmed salmon is produced per annum.

Scotland produces 130,000 tonnes of farmed salmon per annum compared to between 12,000 and 15,000 tonnes produced here. Clearly, therefore, the industry has significant growth potential.

No one suggests we should not farm the land. A difficulty arises in reaching the full potential of sea farming. I acknowledge that in respect of aquaculture, it must proceed in a manner that allows the industry to coexist with other local interests, specifically tourism. We need to examine this issue to identify whether we can increase the industry's potential, especially the significant employment opportunities it offers.

The Deputy referred to the job content of the €240 million seafood development programme. I recently sanctioned some of the funding under this programme. On a visit to an enterprise involved in producing prepared meals, I found it interesting to see boxes of imported farmed salmon stacked in a corner. This example graphically illustrates the potential of the industry to displace imports. Many of the job opportunities available in this sector are in processing fish that are currently exported in an unprocessed state. While I accept that some fish types need to be exported in an unprocessed state, there are significant employment opportunities in fish processing.

I accept the Deputy's point that some of the investment must be made in new technology and increasing efficiency. Ultimately, however, we are talking about value added. The Deputy is not suggesting that any industry should turn its back on the potential to become more efficient. Sometimes this comes at a cost to job creation. In the long term, however, if we can grasp the full potential of the sector, it will increase employment, especially in coastal communities.

As has been noted, Bord Iascaigh Mhara's website provides abundant data on the various programmes it operates. The scale of funding available under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, EMFF, is significant. We can, in conjunction with the licensing arrangements in the aquaculture side, achieve significantly more than we have been achieving thus far.

To return to the point Deputy Jackie Cahill made on volatility, profitability and so forth, I do not propose to dwell on the profitability issue in respect of the recently published Teagasc farm survey because it is what it is. While I appreciate that the landscape in 2016 is very different, we have been in this space before. In 2009, milk prices were at or below current prices. We must acknowledge that volatility involves ups and downs.

Deputy Cahill also referred to grain prices and our competitor markets. Yesterday, Ornua made an interesting presentation setting out its market analysis. One of the issues it signalled in respect of interventions in the marketplace was that skimmed milk powder interventions have resulted in the removal from the market of approximately 2.5 billion litres of milk. This is a significant policy instrument which we will obviously continue to monitor in respect of whether further tonnage is required. The amount of skimmed milk powder going into intervention has increased to 350,000 tonnes. I appreciate that peak milk has been reached and it will probably not be necessary to avail of this instrument as milk production tapers off. However, these instruments are available.

Deputy Cahill also raised an issue regarding cattle prices. A host of markets for live exports are open, including Libya, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Serbia, Algeria and, most recently, Turkey. This does not mean that cattle will move because a whole series of variables need to fall into place. For example, the price for cattle must be right, currency fluctuations must be favourable and boats must be available. My Department is a key player in respect of the licensing of boats and we insist on the highest standards in respect of animal welfare. The bad publicity associated with an inappropriate incident could quickly close down the live exports market. We have the highest standards and nobody complains.

The State can open these markets but it is up to the industry to respond. The current price is above the average price here. I appreciate the point the Deputy makes about recent price dips in respect of cull cows and so on but the price is above the EU price at present and that makes it difficult for exporters to make their margin. They will only act if there is a return for them. It is an area, of opening markets, in which we must remain vigilant, not just in the live export trade but in respect of other market opportunities for processed beef.

I will now address issues in regard to the horse and greyhound fund in respect of Harold's Cross Greyhound Stadium. Under the horse and greyhound fund, the departmental funding is an 80:20 split. Bord na gCon has a well documented financial problems. We had an Indecon report, which identified some of the issues and charted a blueprint for the future. I appreciate that Harold's Cross Greyhound Stadium is part of that. I am not privy to the detail of it but I know from in-house discussions that the sale of Harold's Cross stadium is under active consideration. An issue in regard to the sale of the stadium is that the price will be impacted on by the local authority zoning of the area. I understand that it is under exploration at present.

The Chairman asked what is covered under CEDRA. There is an increase in the allocation, which is up to €1.5 million. That covers the Acorns programme, which is female entrepreneurship as well as the social farming initiative. I had a very interesting experience at the Bloom Festival where I met a participant of that social farming initiative and where people with a disability get a placement on farm holdings. I spoke to a sponsor and a beneficiary and it was an enlightening and uplifting experience to hear at first hand the benefits of the initiative. It could be mainstreamed if we work through other disability organisations. Very often the commentary we hear on placements for the disabled is that the placement that is provided is in many respects meaningless, with a lack of engagement. By contrast, with this social farming placement programme, albeit I had an engagement with only one sponsor and beneficiary, was very positive. The individual could not speak enough of the project. We also have funding under that programme for local markets, artisan food producers and so on.

My Department is not the lead Department in respect of CEDRA, but we fund some elements of it. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, would have responsibility for funding much of the programme. Under the rural development programme we access the Leader funding but we are effectively a postbox for the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

I understand the non-expenditure of the full amount of the beef data and genomics programme in 2015 was due to the scheme being up and running later than anticipated and the level of approvals not matching the provision which we had made for the scheme. We had made provision in budget 2015 but we did not spend the amount of money we anticipated we would. However, we are committed to spending it. There were issues of late compliance. For the benefit of Deputy McConalogue I will read from the briefing note. For 2015, the first year of the programme, the allocation was €52 million. However, payments are expected to total €35 million, yielding savings of €17 million. This is primarily because of a significant percentage of applications not having confirmed completion of their requirements to submit performance data on calves up to five months of age due to the timing of calving on their holdings and hence there was a delay in the draw down in 2015.

The most important point I can make is that the €17 million that was unspent carries over into 2016.

The exact numbers under the scheme - let me check that I have the data-----