Written answers
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Department of Agriculture and Food
Departmental Reports
11:00 pm
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 399: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the list of all proposals in the report of the special group on public service numbers and expenditure relating to his Department or to bodies or agencies under his remit which have been implemented to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13877/10]
Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The position in relation to the main recommendations of the Special Group on Public Numbers and Expenditure Programmes is set out in the following table:
| Main recommendations | Current position |
| Terminate Suckler Cow Scheme | The rate of payment under the Scheme was reduced form €80 to €40 per eligible animal in the 2009 Budget in October 2008. |
| Close REPS 4 and no roll-over of participants from REPS 2 & 3 into REPS 4 | REPS 4 was closed to new applicants on July 2009. |
| Reduce the annual expenditure on the Disadvantaged Area Compensatory Allowance Scheme by 30% | Expenditure was reduced by 14% or €35m in the 2009 Budget in October 2008 |
| Reduce staff numbers and implement efficiency savings in the Department and State bodies under the Department's aegis | The Administrative Budget for the Department of €257 million in 2010 represents a reduction of €46 million in administration costs compared to 2008 and includes reductions in salary, overtime and travel costs due to a) lower staff numbers, reduced overtime and travel allocations, b) improved efficiencies and c) the rationalisation of the Department's local office network.Reductions of the Grants-in-Aid to the State bodies under the aegis of the Department include €25 million cuts compared to 2008 in funding for administration and operating costs due to reductions in staff numbers and improved efficiencies. |
The Vote for my Department has been reduced from a gross outturn of €2.104 billion in 2008 to €1.758 billion in 2010, a reduction of €346 million. The lower 2010 budget provision reflects a combination of factors including lower administration costs, the closure of certain schemes to new applicants, the introduction of lower payment rates, lower levels of funding to discharge outstanding liabilities under existing schemes and lower budget provision for once-off items such as the cost of measures to deal with the dioxin crisis in the pig meat sector.
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