Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 307: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of State, semi State, committees, sub committees, working groups and agencies operating under the aegis of her Department; the function, membership, duration and budget for each; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27142/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

In reply to the Deputy, the following is the position:

Teagasc

Functions: Teagasc — the Agriculture and Food Development Authority was established under the Agriculture (Research, Training and Advice) Act, 1988 to provide research, training and advisory services to the agri-food sector.

Membership and Duration: 11 board members including the Chairman. Term of office is 5 years.

Budget: Exchequer funding to Teagasc amounts to €140.450m in 2007. In addition Teagasc generates its own income which also forms part of its annual budget.

An Bord Bia

Functions: The statutory function of An Bord Bia is to promote, assist and develop the marketing of Irish food and livestock and the production, marketing and consumption of horticulture produce including amenity horticulture.

Membership and Duration: The Board of An Bord Bia comprises a Chairman and 14 ordinary members.

Budget: The annual grant-in-aid for 2007 is €26.7m.

Coillte

Functions: Coillte Teoranta is a private limited company, which operates in forestry and related activities on a commercial basis. The principal objectives of the Company are:

To carry on the business of forestry and related activities on a commercial basis and in accordance with efficient silvicultural practices;

To establish and carry on woodland industries

To participate with other in forestry and related activities consistent with its objects, designed to enhance the effective and profitable operation of the company, and

To utilise and manage the resources available to it in a manner consistent with the above objects.

Membership and Duration: There are currently 7 members on the Board of Directors including the Chairperson.

Budget: Coillte, as a commercial company, generates its own sources of finance and therefore does not receive an annual budget from the Exchequer.

Council for Forest Research and Development (COFORD)

Functions: COFORD is a non-statutory agency under the aegis of the Department. COFORD's remit is to fund and co-ordinate research and development projects with the aim of developing the forestry industry through technical innovation and good silvicultural practice.

Membership and Duration: The membership of the COFORD Council is currently being reviewed. There are currently 12 members of the Council.

Budget: €4.35 million for 2007.

Irish National Stud

Functions: The primary aim of the INS is to help breeders by the provision of top class stallions at reasonable rates to breed with approved mares, it also offers an equine training programme for young people who wish to enter the bloodstock industry.

Membership and Duration: There are 7 Board members including Chairman.

Budget: The Irish National Stud Company Ltd. is a commercial state body. It is not in receipt of grant aid. As is the norm in the commercial sector the Company funds it's operations through a combination of trading income together with borrowings when required. The Company may also seek an injection of equity from it's shareholder, the Minister for Finance, if appropriate depending on the circumstances prevailing.

Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM)

Function: Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) is the Irish State Agency with responsibility for developing the Irish Sea Fishing and Aquaculture Industries. BIM provides a range of services including advisory, financial, technical, marketing and training supports to all sectors of the Irish seafood industry.

Membership: The Board of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) comprises of six (6) board members including the Chairman.

Budget: Grant-in-Aid for 2007 is €45,906,000.

The Marine Institute

Function: The Marine Institute works actively to support existing marine research, technology, development and innovation activity and to underpin future innovation and growth in the marine sector.

Membership: The Board of the Marine Institute comprises of nine (9) Board members including the Chairman.

Budget: The budget for 2007 is €32.39m.

Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA)

Function: The primary purpose of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority is to manage Sea Fisheries Protection and Seafood Safety. The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) in conjunction with the Naval Service and the Air Corps, have a very important role to play in overseeing fishing activities in our waters.

Membership: The Authority of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority comprises of three (3) members including the Chairman.

Budget: The 2007 budget for the SFPA is €10.82m.

Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) Consultative Committee

Function: The Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, allowed for the establishment of a Consultative Committee to inform the Authority of concerns and views of the sea-fisheries and seafood sectors regarding the functions of the Authority and to seek to keep the sea-fisheries and seafood sectors generally informed of the applicable sea-fisheries law and food safety law, as well as of the standards, guidelines, practices and procedures operated by the Authority in relation to the enforcement of that law.

Membership: The Committee consists of 14 members comprising representatives of fishing, processing and aquaculture sectors.

Budget: There is no budget for the operation of this Committee.

Seafood Strategy Implementation Group (SSIG)

Function: The SSIG, is tasked with:

Developing a detailed implementation plan;

Overseeing delivery of the implementation plan; and

Monitoring and reporting on the progress of implementation.

Membership: Membership comprises representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, State

Agencies and the Fisheries Industry

Budget: There is no budget for the operation of this Committee.

Sea Fisheries Liaison Group (SFLG)

Function: The Sea Fisheries Liaison Group is a forum for the fishing industry representatives to be advised, and give their views on issues that arise for the fishing industry, both internally and externally.

Membership: The Sea Fisheries Liaison Group is comprised of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, State Agencies and Industry Representatives.

Budget: There is no budget for the operation of this Committee.

Sea Fisheries Quota Management Advisory Committee

Function: To establish/agree catch limits for various fish species for distribution over the course of the year.

Membership: The Committee is comprised of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Industry and Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) Representatives.

Budget: There is no budget for the operation of this Committee.

Aquaculture Forum

Function: The Aquaculture Forum is a forum for the Aquaculture industry representatives to be advised of issues arising on the Aquaculture Industry, and give their views.

Membership: The Aquaculture forum is made up of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, State Agencies and Industry Representatives.

Budget: There is no budget for the operation of this Committee.

Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre Marketing Initiative

Function: To develop a marketing strategy for Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre with a view to attracting new business to co-exist with the Fishing Industry.

Membership: The membership of the group includes State organisations and bodies with a role or interest in the development of the north west of Ireland.

Budget: The budget is €10,000

Harbour User and Advisory Fora in the six Fishery Harbour Centres

Function: To advise the Sea Fisheries Administration Division of this Department on the running of the Fishery Harbour Centres at a local level.

Membership: Local stakeholders in the Fishery Harbour Centres and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food officials.

Budget: There is no budget for the operation of these fora.

The Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC)

Function: The Marine Licence Vetting Committee (MLVC) provides advice to the Minister regarding technical aspects of Foreshore Lease/Licence and Dumping at Sea applications.

Membership: 7 Members including the Chairperson.

Budget: There is no budget for the operation of this Committee.

Veterinary Council of Ireland

Functions: To regulate the practice of veterinary medicine in the State.

Membership and Duration: The Board of the Veterinary Council has 19 members and the term of office is 4 years.

Budget: Does not receive any exchequer funding- (mainly funded from registration fees from Veterinary Practitioners).

Animal Remedies Consultative Committee

Functions: To assist and advise the Minister in the making of regulations under the Animal Remedies Act 1993.

Membership and Duration: The Animal Remedies Consultative Committee has 9 members and the term of office is 4 years.

Budget: €2,000.

National Milk Agency

Functions: The National Milk Agency function is to regulate the supply of milk for liquid consumption throughout the State and to ensure all year round supply.

Membership and Duration: 14 members, including the Chairman, comprised of representatives of producers, processors, consumers, distributors and retailers. The Agency also has a Chief Executive and a full-time staff of five.

Budget: Funded by means of a statutory levy on producers.

Dairy Consultative Committee

Functions: The Dairy Consultative Committee was established in October 2007 to advise the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on the evaluation of policy proposals in the context of the CAP Health Check. It will continue to meet as required over the coming months.

Membership and Duration: 20 members, including the Chairman, comprised of representatives of DAFF, IFA, ICMSA, Macra na Feirme, ICOS, IDIA, Teagasc, Irish Dairy Board, Bord Bia and UCC.

Budget: None

Milk Quota Appeals Tribunal

Functions: The Milk Quota Appeals Tribunal is a body established to consider and advise on applications for additional milk quota from individual producers who have either suffered severe hardship in the context of the milk quota system or have been restricted by animal disease in the current milk quota year. It was established in 1989 and meets as frequently as required at the latter end of each milk quota year.

Membership and Duration: 6 members, including the Chairman, comprised of representatives of IFA, ICMSA, Macra na Feirme and ICOS.

Budget: None.

Milk Quota Review Group

Functions: The Milk Quota Review Group advises the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on matters relating to the management of Ireland's milk quota. In general, changes to quota schemes are made following consultation with the Milk Quota Review Group. It was established in 1988 and meets at the Minister's request, typically once or twice per year.

Membership and Duration: 12 members, including the Chairman, comprised of representatives of DAFF, IFA, ICMSA, Macra na Feirme, ICOS, IDIA and Teagasc.

Budget: None.

Agri-Vision 2015 Committees

Function: Three Committees have been established under the Agri-Vision 2015 Plan of Action.

Membership and Duration:

1. Agri Vision CEO Group comprising Chiefs Executive of food agencies. This committee was established to discuss cross-cutting issues regarding the Food and drink industry.

2. The Food Industry Committee has been established under the Agri-Vision 2015 action plan. The committee is made up of representatives of the large Irish food and drink manufacturers, representatives of the small and medium sized enterprises and artisan representatives. The committee have been established to identify issues facing the Irish food industry with a view to developing solutions.

3. An industry-led Research Group.

Budget: None of these Committees has an operational budget.

The Audit Committee

Function: The Audit Committee of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was established in 1994. The Audit Committee has three main roles, namely:

To advise on the operation of the internal audit function within the Department.

To monitor the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 4045/89, as amended, more commonly identified as the Scrutiny Regulation.

To advise on best practice for risk management.

Membership and Duration: The Audit Committee is composed of six members including the Chairman. Five of the members are external to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Budget: The Audit Committee has an annual budget of €9,000.

The WTO Consultative Group

Function: The WTO Consultative Group was established to enable interested groups and organizations to review and discuss current developments in the ongoing WTO negotiations and to offer material, advice and expertise to the Department in the process of policy formulation.

Membership and Duration: The Group comprises officials of the Department and representatives of the following organisations; IFA, Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), Teagasc, Bord Bia, Irish Dairy Board, IBEC, Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS), Irish Grain and Feed Association, Macra Na Feirme and two independent agricultural economists.

Budget: None.

Poultry Expert Group

Function: The group was set up in November 2006. The objective of the group was to identify, what needed to be done, and what could be done, to best assist the future viability of the indigenous poultry industry. It is expected that the report of the committee will be finalised within the coming weeks.

Membership and Duration: Trade organisations, state agencies and the Department were represented on the Group.

Budget: None.

Market Access Group

Function: The group had its inaugural meeting in July 2007. It was set up to facilitate trade in Irish meat to non-EU markets by re-opening traditional markets and accessing new markets.

Membership and Duration: The Group is comprised of representatives from the Department, Bord Bia and Meat industry Ireland. No set time limit for given for the group.

Budget: None.

Accreditation Review Group

Function: The Department is an accredited paying agency for payment of CAP funds. To be accredited, it has to meet certain administrative and accounting criteria laid down in EU regulations. An Accreditation Review Group committee (ARG) was established in DAF in January 1997. The main function of the ARG is to ensure compliance with the accreditation criteria.

Membership and Duration: The ARG meets at least quarterly under the chairmanship of the Secretary General of the Department and includes representation by the senior management. It also includes representatives from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the Department of Finance and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Customs service).

Budget: None.

National Steering Group for the Development of the Organic Sector

Function: The National Steering Group for the Development of the Organic Sector was established to provide a framework for partnership between the organic sector and the other principal essential interests, to offer advice to the Minister on policy matters relating to the development of the organic sector and to review progress on the recommendations contained in the Report of the Organic Development Committee.

Membership and Duration: The Group is made up of representatives of a range of stakeholders including organic farmers, mainstream farmers, the food processing and retail sectors, semi-state bodies and consumers. It is supported by two sub-Groups, the Organic Market Development Group and the Partnership Expert Group chaired by Teagasc. The members of the National Steering Group were appointed for a second three-year term from June 2006.

Budget: The operating costs of the Steering Group are met from funds allocated to the Development of the Organic Sector. The total allocation for 2007 was €620,000. This also includes provision for Bord Bia's Organic Marketing Plan for 2006 to 2009, payments to organic demonstration farms and payments to specialist agronomists who conducted seminars and farm walks.

Committee for Increasing the Uptake of Knowledge Society Technologies in Agriculture

Function: The overall objective of the Committee is to accelerate the adoption of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) by the farming sector so as to ensure that it reaps all of the efficiency gains available from such technologies and has access to all of the information sources to make the best decisions for their business.

Membership and Duration: The Committee consists of members of the ICT Unit of the Department, Farming Bodies, The Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Meat Industry Ireland, Teagasc and UCD. The Committee has had 3 meetings in 2007 and will have a 4th next week.

It is expected to produce interim report early in the New Year and that the work will continue throughout 2008.

Budget: None.

Single Payment Appeals Committee

Function: Single Payment Appeals Committee (SPAC) dealt with appeals from farmers in relation to their entitlements under this Single Payments Scheme and continues to deal with appeals from farmers in relation to the distribution of National Reserve entitlements.

Membership and Duration: The Committee is made up of the Chairperson and 4 Agriculture Appeals Officers.

Budget: The Chairperson receives an annual honorarium of € 15,000 and gets the normal Civil Service travel expenses.

Consumer Liaison Panel

Function: The Consumer Liaison Panel was established in January 2002 to strengthen communication between the consumer and my Department. It is a Standing Panel which operates independently of the Department and meets as it considers necessary to liaise on general consumer issues in relation to the activities of the Department and to comment on the flow of information both to and from the public.

Membership and Duration: The Panel has representatives of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Irish Countrywomen's Association, Voluntary and Community Sector Platform, RGDATA and consumer representatives of major food retail outlets. The Chair of the Panel is currently vacant.

Budget: None.

Intensive Livestock Enterprises Working Group

Function: The purpose of the Group is to identify pragmatic solutions for the management of nitrogen and phosphorus arising in intensive enterprises in the context of the "Nitrates Regulations".

Membership and Duration: There are 11 members.

Budget: None.

The Forestry Liaison Group

Function: Forest Industry stakeholder consultation forum for discussing forest policy issues.

Membership and Duration: 24 members (including the Chairman) with representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Enterprise Ireland, Coillte, Farming Bodies and the Forest Industry. First meeting held in November 2004. The work of this group is ongoing.

Budget: None.

Owenriff Working Group

Function: Aim of the Group is the determination of best practice in relation to forest management in the Owenriff catchment, Co. Galway, for the maintenance and enhancement of water quality and consequently the conservation of the freshwater pearl mussel and salmonid populations.

Membership and Duration: 17 members with representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, National Parks & Wildlife, Coillte, Western regional Fisheries Board, Western River Basin District and Galway County Council. Group was established in August 2004 and its report (looking at forestry and FPM) is due to be released shortly.

Budget: None.

Forestry and Freshwater Pearl Mussel Technical Group and Steering Group

Function: The aim of the groups was to produce agreed guidance for all forestry operations, which could affect Margaritifera populations in rivers designated SAC for the species. The Forestry and Freshwater Pearl Mussel Requirements — Site Assessment and Mitigation Measures were produced and these Requirements, when published, will apply to all potentially impacting forest operations within identified portions of the catchments of FPM populations in rivers designated candidate Special Areas of Conservation (cSACs) for the species. Public consultation occurred, the draft Requirements were revised and at present they are in draft stage.

Membership and Duration: Initial meeting took place on the 23rd of September 2005 between the Forest Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte. This meeting resulted in the formation of the Technical and Steering Groups. Work of these groups is still ongoing.

Budget: None.

DAFF — Meat Industry Working Group

Function: Meat Hygiene & Animal By-Products Division meets with Meat Industry Ireland and representatives of some of the major meat processors once a month. The function of this Group is to provide a forum for discussion on topical issues relating to meat hygiene and animal by-products.

Budget: There is no specific budget for the group.

DAFF — Federation of Irish Renderers Working Group

Function: Meat Hygiene & Animal By-Products Division holds bimonthly meetings with representatives of the rendering industry. The function of this Group is to provide a forum for discussion of relevant issues.

Budget: There is no specific budget for the group.

Cross Agency Animal By-Products Group

Function: This group consists of representatives from Meat Hygiene & Animal By-Products Division, the local authorities, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the HSE. It meets bi-monthly. The function of the group is to co-ordinate the enforcement of the animal by-products regulations.

Budget: There is no specific budget for the group.

Animal By-Products Consultative Forum

Function: This group consists of representatives from Meat Hygiene & Animal By-Products Division, the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the compost, biogas and waste management industries. It meets bi-monthly. The function of the group is to provide a forum for discussion on issues relating to the regulation by DAFF under the animal by-products regulations of the composting and biogas industry.

Budget: There is no specific budget for the group.

Monitoring Committee on the Charter of Rights for Farmers

Function: The committee was established under the Charter of Rights for Farmers 2005/2007 to monitors progress on targets established under the Charter.

Membership and Duration: The Social Partner Farm organisations and the Department are represented on the Committee, which has an independent Chairman. It meets at least three times per year.

Budget: None. Fee and expenses paid to Chairman.

In addition to the above, there are a number of DAFF internal committees and working groups.