Written Answers to Questions - Northern Ireland Assembly

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Friday 20 July 2012 Written Answers Supply Chain Development Programme could be used to help the industry establish a group to use the PGI status to best advantage. Comber Earlies are now being harvested and packers are starting to use the Comber Earlies PGI labels on their potato bags. In terms of promoting local quality food, you may be aware that my Department also supports the Regional Food Programme which aims to promote quality produce. Previous successful applications include the Taste of Ulster Guide, the Naturally North Coast Directory and the Food Pavilion at the Balmoral Show. I am confident that with these actions being taken, our three current PGI products will continue to benefit from PGI status and we will have new successful applications, which in turn will help increased further take-up of this valuable scheme. Publicly Funded Research on Soil Quality Mr McNarry asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what specific publicly funded research has been carried out on soil quality since 2007. (AQW 13487/11-15) Mrs O’Neill: My Department has been undertaking an extensive programme of research on soil quality over many years, through our research work programme at the AgriFood and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). AFBI is currently carrying out research on a DARD funded project titled: ‘Monitoring Soil Quality in Northern Ireland’. The aim of this project is to improve our understanding of the extent, diversity and quality of our soil resource and how it is changing. AFBI is also undertaking long term research on the impact of slurry application on soil (since 1970), and established the Representative Soil Sampling Scheme (RSSS) which has been in place since winter 2004. Eradication of Hogweed around River Banks Ms Boyle asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what responsibility her Department has in relation to the eradication of Hogweed around river banks. (AQW 13490/11-15) Mrs O’Neill: Giant Hogweed is a weed which has spread widely through the countryside in particular along river banks. Control of weeds in the wild including around river banks is the responsibility of the landowner. DARD is not responsible for the eradication of this weed which is classified as an Invasive Alien Species. The Wildlife Order (NI) 1985 makes it an offence to deliberately plant Giant Hogweed. Information on the control of Giant Hogweed by using an appropriate herbicide has been developed by DARD and is available for the general public and other government departments to download from the DARD Internet site on: http:/www.dardni.gov.uk/ruralni/giant_hogweed.pdf Single Farm Payment System Mr Elliott asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she will consider changing the Single Farm Payment system to allow an interim payment to be made to farmers who are subject to farm inspections and other matters that result in the withholding of the payment for long periods. (AQW 13507/11-15) Mrs O’Neill: I do not intend to introduce interim payments at this time, but as part of my programme of work to tackle disallowance I am implementing plans to accelerate the processing of payments. The Department has a programme of work in place to improve its mapping and on-the-spot controls. Payments, including interim payments, can only be made when controls have been applied and eligibility conditions have been satisfied. Where inspectors have identified breaches, it takes time to process these. In order to accelerate future payments, I have commenced land eligibility inspections relating to the 2012 application year four weeks earlier than in 2011. This earlier start was made possible by development of IT and business systems, as well as earlier training and equipping of inspection WA 454
Friday 20 July 2012 Written Answers staff. These inspectors have been deployed at this early stage to take advantage of the generally better weather and field conditions at this time of year and, importantly, to provide a longer window of opportunity for completion of inspections in order to make more payments to more inspected businesses earlier in the payment cycle. I also previously announced my intention to introduce the use of satellite imagery for approximately 250 land eligibility inspections in the 2012 campaign. The use of remote sensing should also improve the prospects of early completion of inspections in future years. I am working to increase the use of online applications and have increased this from 9% in 2010 to 21% on 2012. The use of online applications by farmers reduces the scope for error and accelerates the processing of claims. Farmers and their agents can assist in this by moving to online and away from the paper form in 2013 and I would exhort them to investigate this opportunity. I have delivered a major investment in mapping and the use of ortho-photography and have made this available to farmers in 2012. The new maps will assist in due course in accelerating payment timetables once they have had time to bed in. In the meantime, farmers must be vigilant in ensuring the new maps are correct, because it is not possible for them to be correct in every case. A major cause of delay in the processing of inspection cases is the need in many cases for retrospective re-calculation of entitlement value. This will continue to challenge payment targets in 2012, but it is intended that the other measures I have introduced or am introducing will offset this remaining cause of delay. Proposals for Tackling Bovine TB Mr Agnew asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide further details on her proposals for tackling bovine TB, which she announced on 3 July 2012 and, in particular, plans to remove badgers which test positive for TB. (AQW 13566/11-15) Mrs O’Neill: Following recent discussions with industry and wider stakeholders, and informed by the views of the external experts who attended the International Vaccination Symposium in Belfast in May 2012, I have asked my officials to design specific wildlife intervention research. This approach would involve testing live badgers; vaccinating and releasing the test negative badgers; and removing the test positive ones. This wildlife intervention research would focus on removing diseased badgers and protecting uninfected ones. This balanced approach would avoid killing healthy badgers and could lead in time to a healthier badger population incapable of transmitting TB to cattle. The aim of this research would be to test the effectiveness of this approach on the level of TB in badgers and in cattle in the north I have therefore asked my officials to start work straightaway to design and cost this wildlife intervention research. This is a completely new approach. We expect the design for such a study will be complex and we want to make sure we get it right. There are a number of key steps to be completed. The first step is to commission the necessary modelling using information from the north. This initial modelling will help to ensure that the subsequent design is scientifically robust. The modelling will help us identify the optimum location and size for the study, and how long it would need to run. It will also help to identify the costs of this wildlife intervention research more clearly. When we have the results of the initial modelling, the next step will be to design the study proposal. There are a number of other preparatory actions that will be necessary. These include completing the necessary business case; obtaining the necessary licences; and securing the necessary funding. As the badger is a protected species, any direct interventions in the badger population here will be subject to the agreement of the Environment Minister and the issue of the necessary licences. Also, any interventions must be compliant with statutory powers and take into account any relevant legal rulings in Britain. WA 455
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