Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 305: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the date of establishment of Relay — Research for Food Industry; the purpose and role of this body; the number of members of the board of this body; the number of whom are appointed by her Department; the person by whom the remaining board members are appointed by; the amount of financial support provided by the Government to this body for each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5323/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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RELAY, established in 2001, is the national dissemination service charged with communicating the results of publicly funded food research to the Irish food industry. Its primary responsibility is to disseminate the research outputs from the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM), funded by my Department.

RELAY has established itself as the main source of food research information in Ireland and currently has over 1,500 organisations, 3,860 company contacts and 330 researchers on its database. RELAY tailors the methods of communication to provide stakeholders with easy access to research information. Through its website www.relayresearch.ie and targeted use of e-mail, industry contacts are provided with user-friendly updates on every FIRM funded project. RELAY hosts workshops on the latest topics in food research and conducts face-to-face meetings with industry to learn about current research from institutions and universities. RELAY also provides food companies with access to specific researchers to help them meet their R&D needs. The dissemination service, which is carried out by three disseminators and two support staff based in Teagasc and University College Cork, is funded under the FIRM programme. A steering group, appointed by my Department and composed of representatives of the various stakeholders, oversees the work of the RELAY service. The financial support provided by my Department to RELAY in the period 2003-2007 is as follows:

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 306: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the date of establishment of the Food Agency Co-Operation Council; the purpose and role of the council; the number of board members of the council; the number of whom are appointed by her Department; the person by whom the remaining board members are appointed by; the amount of financial support provided by the Government to this committee for each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5324/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Food Agency Co-operation Council (FACC) was established under the aegis of my Department in 2000 to promote the fullest possible practical co-operation between the State Agencies involved in the food industry in the interests of the optimum development of the industry. The Council, which was comprised of senior executives of the various state agencies involved in the food industry, met on 20 occasions between 2000 and 2003 under the independent Chairmanship of Mr Padraic White. There was no financial support provided in respect of the work of the Council. Payments totalling €15,200 were made to Mr. White in recognition of his work as Chairperson over the four year period.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 307: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the date of establishment of the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council; the purpose and role of the council; the number of board members of the council; the number of whom are appointed by her Department; the person by whom the remaining board members are appointed by; the amount of financial support provided by the Government to this council for each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5325/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council (FAWAC) was established in February 2002 on a non-statutory basis. It has been instrumental in promoting animal welfare in a practical way and providing a forum for different interest groups to meet, exchange views and reach consensus on the broad mandate of challenges facing farm animal welfare. Its terms of reference are:

To identify ways in which the welfare of farm animals can be further improved and to prioritise areas requiring attention.

At the request of the Minister/Department, to consider and advise on proposals for EU and national legislation relating to farm animals.

To consider ways of increasing public awareness and development and dissemination of information relating to welfare of farm animals at home and abroad.

To provide any other advice relevant to the welfare of farm animals as the Minister may seek from time to time.

All members of Council are appointed by me and include representatives from the following organisations:

The Irish Farmers Association

The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association

The Irish Co-operative Organisation SocietyCompassion in World Farming

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Wexford Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The Committee for Irish Livestock, Dealers, Exporters, Hauliers and Shippers

Veterinary Ireland

Teagasc

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDNI), Northern Ireland

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UCD Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

FAWAC is chaired by Professor Patrick Fottrell, former President of the National University of Ireland, Galway and secretariat assistance is provided by my Department. The total amount of financial support provided to date is €313,000. This funding includes expenditure on publications, meetings, subsistence and ex-gratia payments and is broken down as follows:

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 308: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the date of establishment of the consumer liaison panel; the purpose and role of the panel; the number of members of the panel; the number of whom are appointed by her Department; the persons by whom the remaining board members are appointed by; the amount of financial support provided by the Government to this panel for each of the past five year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5326/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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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. It does not have a set annual budget.

There are currently eight members on the Panel, nominated by organizations to represent the consumer base of those organizations. The Panel consists of 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 is nominated by the Minister, this position is currently vacant. A representative of the Department also sits on the Panel as a facilitator and the Department provides secretariat and back-up services. My Department is currently in the process of reviewing the activities of the Panel in accordance with the commitment set out in the Agri-Vision 2015 Action Plan.

Financial support towards the running costs of the Panel is provided by my Department. The breakdown of costs of the Panel during the past five years is set out below.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 309: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the date of establishment of the animal remedies consultative committee; the purpose and role of the committee; the number of members of the committee; the number of whom are appointed by her Department; the persons by whom the remaining board members are appointed by; the amount of financial support provided by the Government to this committee for each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5327/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Animal Remedies Consultative Committee was originally provided for under the Animal Remedies Act 1956 to advise and assist the Minister for Agriculture in the making of regulations under that Act. With the replacement of the 1956 Act by the Animal Remedies Act 1993, the Committee, as currently constituted, came into being on 15 June 1994. The nine member Committee is appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Seven of these appointments, however, are made, as prescribed by Section 3(2)(a) of the Act, on the basis of nominations as follows:

1 from the Minister for Health and Children

1 from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland

1 from the Veterinary Council of Ireland

1 1 from organizations engaged the manufacture, distribution, sale or supply of animal remedies

1 from organizations concerned with livestock farming or the keeping or rearing of animals or use of animal remedies

1 from organizations concerned with production of food of animal origin or development of the food industry

1 from organizations concerned with consumer interests.

In line with its remit, the Committee is only convened when consideration is being given to the making of regulations under the Act, which results in infrequent meetings. The total amount of expenditure arising from the activities of the Committee for each of the last 5 years is as follows: