annual report annual report 2018 2018 - opac.oireachtas.ie

Annual Report2018

Prepared by the Department ofAgriculture, Food and the Marine

www.agriculture.gov.ie

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https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/

Mission Statement

Vision Statement

This Annual Report isproduced in line withthe objectives set out in theStatement of Strategy2016 - 2019

Content

Review and Main Achievements of 2018

STRATEGIC GOAL 1 Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health and Animal Welfare

Food SafetyAnimal Health and WelfarePlant HealthLaboratory Service

STRATEGIC GOAL 2 Farm/Sector Supports and Controls

Promoting Sustainable FarmingScheme Operations

STRATEGIC GOAL 3 Policy and Strategy

EU/International InteractionsNational Policy FrameworkResearch & InnovationFood and Drink SectorPrimary ProductionEnvironmental Measures

STRATEGIC GOAL 4 Seafood Sector

Overview Seafood SectorFisheries Management and Conservation Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Capital Development Programme

STRATEGIC GOAL 5 Corporate Development

Financial ManagementStaff and Organisation ManagementDeveloping IT CapabilityCorporate Affairs

APPENDICESAppendix A: Organisation of DepartmentAppendix B: State BodiesAppendix C: Vote 30 Agriculture, Food and the Marine 2018Appendix D: Performance Budgeting Appendix E: EAGF/EAGGF Guarantee Expenditure 2018

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The agriculture and food sector continued to play avital role in Ireland’s economy with agri-food exportsaccounting for 10% of total exports with a value of€13.7 billion and marking growth of over 73% since2009. The UK remained Ireland’s largest agri-foodexport destination, with exports of €5.5 billion in 2018or 40.6% of total exports (a 3.1% increase on 2017).Exports to the EU (excluding the UK) were worth €4.4billion while exports to the Rest of the World wereworth €3.7 billion in 2018. The top three exportcategories in 2018 were Dairy Produce at €4.6 billion,Beef at €2.4 billion and Beverages at €1.4 billionaccounting for €8.4 billion or 62% of total worldwideagri-food exports.

The agri-food sector makes a significant contributionto employment, accounting for 7.7% of totalemployment or 173,000 jobs, in rural and coastal areas.

The Department was responsible for Voted expenditureof over €1.5 billion in 2018. In addition to votedexpenditure, the Department spent €1.2 billion in EUEAGF funded schemes, bringing total expenditure to€2.7 billion

Work continued in 2018 to give effect to the UK’sdecision to leave the European Union on 30 March2019, following the submission by Prime Minister Mayof the Article 50 Notification of Withdrawal on 30 March2017.

The main impact of the Brexit vote on the sectorcontinues to be the effect of sterling volatility on thosebusinesses that have a significant trading relationshipwith the UK, and this drop in currency value continuesto have a negative impact. The medium to longer term

threats from Brexit, which are expected to include thepossible introduction of tariffs on trade between theEU and UK, and potential divergences in regulationsand standards between both countries post-Brexit, arebecoming more likely as efforts to have the WithdrawalAgreement and Political Declaration agreed by the UKParliament are proving difficult.

The Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declarationwere agreed between the EU27 and Prime Minister Mayin November, subject to ratification by the EuropeanParliament and the UK Parliament.

The Future Growth Loan Scheme has been developedby this Department and the Department of Enterprise,Business and Innovation in co-operation with the SBCIand the European Investment Fund (EIF). It will bedelivered through participating finance providers andmake up to €300 million of investment loans availableto eligible Irish businesses, including farmers and theagri-food and seafood sectors. The loans will becompetitively priced and will be for terms of 8-10 yearsand will support strategic long-term investment in apost-Brexit environment.

Budget 2019, introduced a €78 million Brexit packagefor farmers, fishermen, food SMEs and for Brexitpreparedness costs. The package includes €23 millionin additional support to Areas of Natural Constraintrecipients; €20 million to applicants for a new BeefEnvironmental Efficiency Programme; and €1 million insupports for the horticulture sector. A sum of €27million was allocated for capital funding for the foodindustry; and €7 million for additional staff and ICTrequirements for increased import controls at portsand airports.

€13.7 billionIrish Food Exports in 2018

Brexita major challenge to

the Irish economy

4

Minister Creed met regularly with Commissioner Hoganto discuss the potential impact of a disorderly Brexit onthe agri-food and fisheries sectors and to stress theneed for the Commission to be ready to deploy a rangeof measures to mitigate the potential impacts onfarmers and processors. Commissioner Hoganconfirmed the EU’s readiness to respond and supportIreland in such circumstances.

Minister Creed has also continued his engagement withstakeholders, through meetings of the BrexitStakeholders Consultative Committee and attendanceat events organised by the various representativebodies. These engagements afforded him theopportunity to keep the sector fully informed ofdevelopments while at the same time eliciting fromthem their concerns and recommendations which are,in turn, being fed into the ‘whole of government’approach to the negotiations.

The Department launched an eight week publicconsultation on the future of CAP post 2020 from 26January to 23 March 2018. As part of this process atotal of six public meetings were held in variouslocations around the country in February 2018.

The Department received 164 written responses to thepublic consultation process, the majority of which werefrom farmers/farming organisations. The need for astrong CAP budget was a common theme in theresponses received.

Minister Creed, hosted a seminar on the new CAPproposals for interested stakeholders, including farmbodies, state agencies and the environmental pillar on4 July 2018. The outcome from the public consultationprocess and the stakeholder conference is feeding intothe Departments analysis and policy response to theproposals.

During 2018, Minister Creed led very successful trademissions to the US, Canada, China, Indonesia andMalaysia. Minister Doyle visited China in November2018. These missions included participants from acrossthe agri-food sector and featured extensive tradecontacts as well as high-level political discussions. Allof these markets have been identified as offering hugepotential to the Irish agri-food sector.

In June, the Department secured access to the Chinesemarket for Irish beef. This was a significantachievement in terms of market diversification and wasa result of successful multi agency collaboration.Access for Irish beef to Kuwait and Qatar was alsosecured in 2018.

The prolonged cold and wet winter of 2017/2018followed almost immediately by the drought of lastsummer presented significant challenges to the Irishfarming sector both on primary agricultural activitiesand, by default related sectors such as with fodderproduction and resultant impacts on the dairy and beefsectors.

In each instance, the Department, in conjunction withits agencies and the relevant sectoral representativegroups collaborated in developing targeted measuresincluding financial support mechanisms designed toalleviate and reduce the short and medium impacts feltby the farming sectors most immediately affected bysuch weather events.

The Minister introduced a range of initiatives including,a Fodder Transport Measure, Fodder Import SupportMeasure and a Fodder Production Incentive. Thesemeasures were underpinned by the establishment ofthe Fodder Co-ordination Group in March 2018 chairedby Teagasc who advised and contributed to thedevelopment of in-time contingencies to minimisetheir impacts on the farming communities throughoutthe country.


In June 2018, theDepartmentsecured access tothe Chinese marketfor Irish beef

Theintroduction ofextra supportmechanismsfor the farmingcommunity

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Ireland’s National Action Plan on AntimicrobialResistance 2017-2020 (iNAP), developed jointly by thisDepartment and the Department of Health to addressthe urgent and growing challenge of antimicrobialresistance (AMR) for human health, animal health andthe environment worldwide. This action plan aims toimplement policies and actions to address AMR acrossthe health, agricultural and environmental sectors.The iNAP Animal Health Implementation Committeewas launched in January 2018, and chaired by Ireland’sChief Veterinary Officer.

In collaboration with Department of Health and theEnvironmental Protection Agency, the Department helda very successful event ‘One Health 2018: A JointApproach for Healthcare and Veterinary Professionals’in Dublin’s Convention Centre on 20 November 2018 tomark European Antibiotic Awareness Day and WorldAntibiotic Awareness Week.

The Department ran a “Don’t Risk it!” awarenessraising campaign at Bloom and the PloughingChampionships in 2018. This campaign was targetedat travellers, tourists and commercial businesses whoare bringing plants, plant products and other high riskitems made of plant material into Ireland from abroad.This campaign was fully endorsed by the EuropeanPlant Protection Organisation (EPPO) and theEuropean Commission via revised plant healthlegislation. The objective of the campaign was tohighlight the social, environmental and economicimpact of bringing in infected plant material orquarantine pests and diseases into Ireland.

The Horticulture sector saw strong investment in 2018with €4.9 million paid under the CommercialHorticulture Grant Aid Scheme which supportedinvestments totalling €12.3 million.

Ireland maintained a whole of government positionregarding engagement on the finalisation of the EffortSharing Regulation (ESR) and Land Use, Land-UseChange and Forestry (LULUCF) files. Both the ESR andLULUCF regulations were adopted in 2018.

The Department hosted a very successful SustainabilityDialogue stakeholder event last summer. Delegatesfrom across the sector attended and there was a realsense of collaboration on the day. The Departmentcontinues to work at building this consensus aroundthe need for agriculture sector to make a positivecontribution to the climate change debate.

In 2018, as as result of a Research Call, Irish ResearchPerforming Organisations including Teagasc,Universities and Institutes of Technology benefitedfrom awards of over €19.5 million for 28 projectscovering a range of topic areas. In addition togenerating evidence for policy and technologies toimprove agri-food practices, this investment providesdirect employment for 71 contract researchers andeducation opportunities for 62 post graduate studentsin the form of PhDs (51) and Masters Degrees (11).

A mid term review of the Forestry Programme wascompleted in 2018, the outcome of which was theintroduction of a suite of new measures. Certain grantand premium rates were also increased, the highest ofwhich related to the new planting of broadleaf treespecies. There was a notable increase in such plantingwith broadleaf afforestation rising from 21% of totalplanting in 2017 to 27% by the end of 2018. It is alsonotable that 374 hectares of native woodlands wereplanted in 2018, the highest level on record to date.


Severalprogrammes werelaunched to protectIreland frominvasive speciesand microbes

2018 saw a 7% increase ofbroadleafafforestation

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The Department also introduced, in 2018, theWoodland Environmental Fund (WEF) to furthersupport the planting of native woodlands. This newinitiative provides an opportunity for businesses topartner with the Government and Irish landowners tosupport the national effort to plant an additional 5million native trees during the remaining two years ofthe current Forestry Programme. There has beensignificant interest in this scheme from businessesacross the country.

The Department supported the establishment of twocertification groups for private forest owners. TheDepartment also funded the development of a suite oftechnical documents to facilitate forest owners toachieve forest certification, with the documentsavailable online from early 2018.

The COFORD advisory council 2016-2018 published anumber of reports during its term resulting from anumber of working groups established. These reportsprovided information and recommendations on areasranging from forest policy and wood supply to theimportance of the forest bioeconomy. All reports areavailable for download from www.coford.ie.

Following a successful pilot scheme in 2017, a ForestryKnowledge Transfer Group (KTG) Scheme waslaunched by Minister Doyle in August 2018. The KTGmodule in 2018, which comprised of 33 groups totalling605 participants, focussed on timber mobilisation andbiomass. The purpose of the Forestry KTG scheme is toprovide private forest owners with additionalknowledge and support in management activities intheir forest.

The Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC), establishedunder the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001, commencedwork in early 2018, following the appointment byMinister Creed of Mr. Bart Brady as Chairperson of thenew Committee. The FAC is available as an appealsbody to applicants or third parties who are dissatisfiedwith decisions made by the Department onapplications for licences for afforestation, tree felling,forest road works and aerial fertilisation.

The third annual progress report of Food Wise 2025,entitled “Steps to Success 2018”(https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodwise2025/foodwise2025-stepstosuccess2018/), was launched in July2018. The report highlights the progress achieved inyear three in the implementation of the detailed FoodWise 2025 strategy. Of the 375 actions which were dueto commence by 2018 or are ongoing actions, 74%have been achieved or substantial action has beenundertaken; and a further 26% have commenced andare progressing well.

A range of projects under the Rural Innovation andDevelopment Fund (RIDF) linked to therecommendations of CEDRA (Commission for theEconomic Development of Rural Areas) received €1.5million in funding from the Department over 2018.

The Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill was before theOireachtas in 2018. (The Bill passed all stages in theHouses of the Oireachtas in the first quarter of 2019).The Government approved the publication of the Bill inearly 2017. The Bill seeks to provide legislativeamendments to the Sea-Fisheries and MaritimeJurisdiction Act 2006 in order to address the SupremeCourt finding in October 2016, that fishing by NorthernIreland vessels within the 0-6 nautical mile zone of theterritorial waters of the State is not permitted by law.


Progess Steps toSuccess 2018 report

74% of actions havebeen achieved or

substantial action hasbeen undertaken

5 million native treesto be planted during theremaining two years ofthe current ForestryProgramme.

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodwise2025/foodwise2025-stepstosuccess2018/

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SeaFest 2018, attracted over 103,400 people to GalwayHarbour and Docks. The festival showcased as Ireland’sNational Maritime Festival, aims to strengthen ourmaritime identity, increasing participation andengagement with Ireland’s abundant marine resources,by raising awareness of the value and opportunitiesprovided by the sea. SeaFest is a key part ofHarnessing Our Ocean Wealth (Ireland’s IntegratedMarine Plan) and its goal of increasing participationand engagement with the sea.

The EU Fisheries Council in December 2018 agreedTotal Allowable Cathces (TACs) and quotas for 2019.The Minister secured 193,613 tonnes of quotas worth€260 million for Irish fishermen.

In 2018, Irish Whiskey exports continued to grow andreached €647 million for the first time and broughtcumulative growth of the category to over 134% since2012. Irish Cream exports were valued at €342 million,The most important export market was the UnitedStates.

Approximately 98.5% of the national herd was testedfor bovine TB in 2018. There was an increase in thenumber of reactors detected, 17,491 in 2018 comparedto 17,266 in 2017. Herd incidence of TB increased from3.47% to 3.51% in the same period.

From January 2018, the formal badger vaccinationprogramme commenced in the counties which formedpart of the field trials. Badgers are captured,vaccinated and released instead of being captured andculled. The vaccination program is continuing on anannual basis, so each year’s births in vaccination areasare vaccinated as they are captured. It is intended toexpand the vaccination area incrementally over thecoming years.

The TB Forum was established in 2018 and met threetimes. It comprises representatives from theDepartment of Agriculture, the agrifood sector andleading researchers. The Forum is tasked withdeveloping proposals, to forward the eradication of TBby 2030 whilst at the same time respecting theprinciples of the National Farmed Animal HealthStrategy.

In addition to paying Ireland’s 2018 subscription of€1.37 million to FAO, further extra budgetary funding of€2.89 million was provided to the Food and AgricultureOrganisations (FAO) in areas where FAO has a particularcompetence and which the Department considers to beof strategic importance

The Department launched its Diversity, Equality andInclusion policy during 2018. The policy presents ourvision for a workplace where diversity is celebrated andeveryone is treated fairly regardless of their beliefs,status or identity. A workplace where individuals canbring their authentic self to work is one whereindividuals will be more creative, enthusiastic andflourish for the overall benefit of the organisation.


SeaFest 2018,attracted over103,400 peopleto GalwayHarbour andDocks

Irish Whiskeyexportsreached€647 millionin 2018

Trade Factsheet 2018

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Agri-food sector trade - Exports

The Agri-food sector accounted for 10% of the value oftotal Irish exports in 2018. Between the period

2009- 2018 Agri-food exports increased by 73% from€7.8 billion to nearly €13.7 billion. While the value of

Agri-food exports was down slightly (1%) from a record€13.8 billion in 2017, the volume of exports was up by

4% according to the CSO.

Value of Agri-food sector exports by destination, 2009 - 2018

€6

€5

€4

€3

€2

€1

€0

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Billi

ons

Dairy Produce34%

Beef 18%

Other*13%Coffee, Tea,

Cocoa & Spices 3%

Animal Foodstuffs 3%

Live Animals 3%

Forestry 3%

Cereal & cerealpreparation 3%

Fish 4%

Pigmeat 6%

Beverages 10%

* Other includes: Coffee, Tea, Cocoa & Spices; AnimalFoodstuffs; Sheepmeat;Poultry; Misc Edible Products& Preparations; Fruit & Vegbased products etc.

UK, 5.55

EU (excl . UK), 4.43

Rest of World, 3.68

Agri-food sector exports by type, 2018

34%Dairy Produce

makes up of Agri-Food

exports in 2018


Top 10destinations forAgri-food sector

exports, 2018

Country € 000 Tonnes

United Kingdom 5,551,636 4,300,241Netherlands 1,044,931 420,962United States 1,022,445 190,926France 861,912 271,947Germany 756,361 217,608China 794,321 229,412Italy 377,093 113,242Belgium 290,531 97,482Spain 289,493 72,987Sweden 152,782 45,603

Value and volume of Agri-food sector exports by year, 2009 -2018

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14

12

10

8

6

4

2

02009 2010 2011 2012 2103 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

The UK isIreland’stop exportdestination forthe Agri-foodsector

The value ofAgri-food sector exportsgrew byfrom 2009to 2018

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7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Billi

ons

Tonnes Exports

Mill

ion

Toon

nes

9

7billion €

Agri-food sector trade - Exports


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Agri-food sector trade - ImportsThe agri-food sector accounted for 11% of total imports in

2018. Between the period 2009 – 2018 agri-food importsincreased by 68% from €5.8 billion to over €9.7 billion.Agri-food imports totalled over €9.7 billion in 2018, an

increase of 7% on 2017, while volume of goods importedincreased by 20% according to the CSO.

Agri-food sector imports by year, 2009 - 2018

2009 2010 2011 2012 2103 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Billi

ons

Mill

ion

Tonnes €

12

10

8

6

4

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0


United Kingdom 4,464,216 4,856,508Netherlands 896,495 710,945Germany 665,164 511,185France 482,747 710,776United States 383,819 1,071,514

Top 5 destinations for Agri-food sector Imports, 2018

Animal Foodstuffs12%

Dairy Produce12%

Beverages10%

Fruit & Vegetables10%

Coffee, Tea, Cocoa & Spices7%

Other*26%

Sugar, SugarPreparation & Honey

4%

Poultry6%

Fruit & VegetablesBased Products

6%

Miscellaneous EdibleProducts & Preparations

7% * Other includes: Fruit & Veg based products; Poultry; Sugar, Sugar Prep & Honey; Pigmeat; Forestry;Fish; Live Animals; Veg Oils & Fats; Crude Animal & Veg Material; Wood Based Products; Beef; OtherMeat & Meat Products; Oilseeds & Oleaginous Fruit; Sheepmeat; Flax, Wool & Animal Hair; Egg;Animal Oils & Fats; Animal Skins & Furs and Cotton.

Agri-food sectorimports by type, 2018


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Prepared Consumer FoodsThe Prepared Consumer foods sector accounted for over€2.6 billion in agri-food sector exports in 2018, and €3.6

billion in imports. Between the period 2012 – 2018prepared consumer food exports increased by 30% from

€2 billion to over €2.6 billion.

Value and volume ofPrepared ConsumerFood exports byyear, 2012 - 2018

2012 2103 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

Mill

ions

Thou

sand

s

Volume (Tonnes) Value

€3000

€2,500

€2,000

€1,500

€1,000

€500

€0


United Kingdom 1,781,147 963,476France 143,776 23,014Netherlands 87,184 13,167Spain 80,493 8,927Germany 78,855 15,673

Top 5 destinations for PCF exports, 2018

MeatPreparations39%

Chocolate basedproducts11%

Other19%

Sugar-basedproducts

5%

Breads6%

Waters &Juices & Soft Drinks

6%

Other Food Preparations8%

PCF sector exportsby type, 2018.

Dairy Preparations6%

1Food Safety, Animal and PlantHealth and Animal Welfare

To promote and safeguard public,animal and plant health andanimal welfare for thebenefit of consumers andproducers and wider society

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One Health

The ‘One Health’ concept promotes a “whole ofsociety” approach which recognises that the health ofpeople is connected to the health of animals and theenvironment. The goal of the ‘One Health’ concept is toencourage multidisciplinary collaborative effortsacross different sectors such as health, agriculture andthe environment to achieve the best health outcomesfor people and animals.

The ‘One Health’ concept, endorsed by the Food andAgriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO),the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and theWorld Health Organisation (WHO), in 2008 as a jointstrategic framework in response to the evolving risk ofemerging and re-emerging infectious diseases,recognises that the health of humans is intrinsicallyconnected to the health of animals and to theenvironment. More than 60% of human infectiousdiseases worldwide are caused by pathogens ofzoonotic nature, transmitted to man by domestic orwild animals, either through direct contact, theenvironment (including through living vectors) or food.There are historically well-recognised examples, suchas tuberculosis, brucellosis and rabies and a growingnumber of more recent examples, such as AvianInfluenza, West Nile Fever, Ebola, Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle EasternRespiratory Syndrome (MERS). This evolution of newand re-emerging pathogens represents a growingglobal threat to human and animal health, includingfood safety and indeed food security. Therefore,preventing diseases at their animal source is crucial toprotecting human health.

Farms are ‘food producing premises’ and thereforefarmers must be sensitive to the potential risks – inparticular biological and chemical risks – that can ariseon their premises and which may impact on the safetyof the food produced from their animals. Whilst manyrisks are well known and can be mitigated, particularcare should be taken when introducing new materialsor technologies to the farm environment to ensure thatthere is no unintended negative impact on thedownstream food supply chain.

Beyond the matter of food safety, animal-based foodsalso contribute to human health by playing asignificant role in providing for the nutritional needs ofan expanding global population. Taking into accountthe varying nutritional needs at different life stages andwith increasing life expectancy, consistent high qualitymilk and meat products have tremendous potential tobe used as sources of food ingredients that can betailored to meet the nutritional needs at different lifestages of the human population. Sub-optimal animalhealth can impact on food quality and consistency.

Furthermore, within this ‘One Health’ framework, thematter of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is nowuniversally accepted to be a major strategic globalpublic health risk. Whilst animal health has not yetbeen significantly negatively impacted on by a lack ofeffective antibiotics arising from AMR development, therelevance for the farming and veterinary communitiesand the agri-industry is that animals and humans sharethe same environment, are exposed to the samegeneral families of bacteria and are essentially treatedwith the same suite of antibiotics. Whilst the extentthat the use of antibiotics in farm production systemsdirectly contributes to the overall AMR problem issubject to debate, it is clear that resistance doesdevelop in bacteria found in animals and in farmenvironments and that this resistance can transmit tohumans directly through contact, through the sharedenvironment and also through food products. Indeed,non-disease causing bacteria can develop resistanceand pass this resistance on to disease causing bacteria.

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One Health

It is important to note that many of the inspections andcontrols operated by or on behalf of the State withinthe agri-industry by the Department of Agriculture,Food and the Marine have, as their primary goal, theprotection of human health. These controls, with theirfocus on zoonotic agents and all potential risks withinthe food chain serve to reduce the risk to the humanpopulation.

While there may be a perception that expenditureincurred and controls undertaken by the Departmentare simply to oversee and control animal productionsystems, in fact quite a number are focused on the‘public good’ arising from their integral part of the Irishpublic health system. In line with the principle‘prevention is better than cure’, it is important that thisis more clearly recognised and specifically taken intoaccount in decision-making regarding investment inthe public health systems in Ireland.

Notwithstanding the importance of the above point, inthe context of food safety, food business operators(FBOs) have primary responsibility to ensure that anyfood they place on the market is wholesome and safe.FBOs – including farmers - therefore have anundeniable responsibility to take actions necessary tominimise known risks to public health.

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Food Safety

Food Safety and Hygiene Controls

Food safety and hygiene standards continued throughthe implementation by the Department of its servicecontract with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland(FSAI).

A new three year Service Contract effective from 2017covers controls on:

� Meat hygiene� Milk and milk products� Egg and egg products � Pesticides� Horticulture� Border Inspection Posts� Residues� Zoonoses Directive� Food labelling

In 2018, the Department co-ordinated the investigationof 75 food complaints of which 60 were for meat/meatproducts, 15 were for milk/dairy products, and 30 wererapid alerts on behalf of the FSAI and the EuropeanCommission. These ranged from conformance withlabelling legislation, foreign objects allegedly found inproducts and quality issues. These investigations werein addition to the normal monitoring of food to ensurethat the maximum acceptable level of residues is notexceeded.

The Department also participated in five DirectorateGeneral for Health and Food Safety Audit/Fact FindingMissions in respect of Feed Importers, GeneticallyModified Organisms, Controls on Organic Farming andLabelling, Food Hygiene to prevent MicrobiologicalContamination and National Audit Systems.

Milk and Meat

Based on the fundamental principle that each food andfeed business operator is responsible for the safety ofthe food/feed they produce, all dairy and meatestablishments must be compliant with therequirements of the European Food HygieneRegulations (known as the “Hygiene Package”). FoodBusiness Operators (FBOs) must also adhere to theinternationally accepted HACCP (hazard analysis andcritical control point) principles, which give FBOs theflexibility to adapt control systems to the specificrequirements of their operation. Throughout 2018, theDepartment continued to monitor and verify that allsuch approved establishments remained compliantwith these principles. The Department maintains a listof approved and registered food establishments on itswebsite.(http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodsafetyconsumerissues/DAFMapprovedestablishments/)

The Department also carries out its own risk-basedcontrols at establishments under its supervision.During 2018, the Department controls system in meatplants moved from a focus on individual inspections toan audit model. A new focus on broader risk assessedaudits of activities impacted on the overall number ofcontrols. 2,267 controls were carried out on meatestablishments in 2018 to verify that the relevantlegislative requirements are being fulfilled at all stagesof production, processing and distribution.Supplementary technical controls included 4,766 visitsto Meat FBOs. The corresponding number of controlscarried out in dairy establishments (including marketsupport) was 1,512. Supplementary technical controlsincluded 12,566 samples taken in 2018. TheDepartment also issued 29,459 certificates in supportof dairy trade to internal and international markets.

A total of 588 milk and meat notices were served onMilk and Meat FBOs, notifying them of infringementsunder the Hygiene Regulations and follow-up actionwas taken as necessary.

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https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodsafetyconsumerissues/

Food Safety

Animal By-Products

Ireland’s meat industry generates 500,000 tonnes ofraw animal by-products (ABP) or ‘5th quarter’ annually.ABP also includes food waste; carcases of animals thatdie on farms; and manure from farmed animals.Approximately 1,800 ABP operators ranging from thebiogas, composing and the rendering sector toeducational institutions and research facilities areinvolved in the collection, transport, handling,treatment, transformation, processing, storage, placingon the market, distribution use or disposal of animalby-products and are regulated under EU and nationalABP legislation by the Department.

Animal Feed Controls

The Department is the central Competent Authorityresponsible for the enforcement of EU legislation withregard to animal feedingstuffs. A prerequisite for safefood is safe animal feed and consequently the animalfeed sector is heavily regulated and controlled withinthe EU. The focus of the legislation is to ensure thatfeedingstuffs do not endanger food safety, do not posea risk to animal health, meet the minimum standardsprescribed, are accurately labelled and are fullytraceable.

The Department carries out a programme of controlsthat are implemented through inspections of premisesand sampling of feedingstuffs at all stages of the feedchain, including importation, storage, manufacture,trade and use at farm level. In the case of FeedBusiness Operators (FeBO’s), inspections, samplingand analyses are carried out on the basis of a riskassessment.

Feed samples are subject to a broad range of analysesincluding both qualitative analysis to ensure the safetyof feed and also to verify the accuracy of labellinginformation necessary for purchasers to make theoptimal choice for their needs.

In 2018, a total of 1,216 inspections were performed. Inline with previous years, infringements associated withHACCP procedures were the predominant reason ofnotices issued to FeBO’s, making up 48% of the totalnumber issued. Hygiene infringements represented afurther 19% while infringements relating to labellingand traceability accounted for 10% and 12%

respectively. The remaining 12% of infringementsrelated to various other aspects of feed production. Allinfringements notified to FeBO’s were recorded,followed up and resolved.

1,615 samples of animal feed were taken in 2018 andsent to a number of laboratories for various analyses.From the total number of analyses carried out, 4%were found to be outside of analytical tolerance levels.All outside tolerance test results were recorded,followed up and resolved as part of the FeedingstuffsOfficial Control Programme.

Animal Feed Exports

The robustness of Irish feed controls are reflected inthe ever expanding access to export markets for Irishagri-food products, with the export of Irishmanufactured animal feed products to 61 ThirdCountries, including some of the most demandingmarkets such as Japan and China. In addition, therewas a 10% increase in the numbers of feed exportcertificates issued in 2018 compared to 2017.

Residues Surveillance in Food

The 2018 results of the Department’s National ResiduePlan showed a continuing trend of high rate ofcompliance with 99.79% of samples testing negativefor any residues.

Approximately 17,900 samples were tested in 2018,taken across all 8 food producing species as well asmilk, eggs and honey. 99.79% tested negative for anyresidues and this is a continuation of the trend over anumber of years of a general absence of residues inIrish food products. This high level of compliance hasbeen consistent over the last number of years.

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2017 1,252 61

2018 1,394 61

Number of ExportCertificates issued

Number of ThirdCountries receiving

exports

Food Safety

Just 38 samples were non-compliant and of these themajority related to residues of authorised medicines.Risk evaluations by the Food Safety Authority of Irelandwere carried out in response to each positive result andit was found that there was no unacceptable foodsafety risk to consumers and none required a recall ofproducts from the market. All positive results wereinvestigated on the farm of origin with a view to takingthe necessary enforcement measures up to andincluding legal action.

Approval, Inspection and Control of PlantProtection and Biocidal Products

Pesticide products containing approved activesubstances are authorised at national level inaccordance with zonal evaluation, mutual recognitionand decision-making criteria agreed at EU level.Detailed assessment and peer review work progressedfor 27 active substances during 2018, with 18substances completing the regulatory process.Detailed assessment and peer review work for 27products was progressed in 2018, with 11 productscompleting the regulatory process. In addition, afurther 207 plant protection products and 445 biocidalproducts were authorised through the mutualrecognition process or updated during the year.

Only plant protection and biocidal products which areincluded in the Official Register may be placed on themarket. Some 1,150 plant protection productscontaining 223 active substances, were included on theRegister at the end of 2018. Details are available on theDepartment’s website, which may be interrogated byproduct name, by active substance or by function andcrop. At the end of 2018, 2,722 products were includedon the Biocidal Product Register in Ireland.

The Department carries out follow up actions inrelation to breaches of Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs)and unauthorised uses identified by the PesticideControl Laboratory. In 2018, the National PesticideResidues Control Programme, sampled and analysed1,335 food items. MRLs for pesticide residues in foodwere exceeded in 30 of the samples analysed (2.2%)but no consumer health risk was identified. Tenbreaches related to produce of non-Irish origin that hadbeen sampled as part of the surveillance programme.In each instance, warning letters were issued advisingthese wholesalers and officials that the produce would

be subjected to statutory action if a repeatinfringement was detected. Two breaches related toproduce of Irish origin. The producers in question wereinvestigated for possible cause of the non-compliances.There was one breach relating to import controls. Inaddition, occurrences of unauthorised uses ofpesticides were investigated and follow-up actioninitiated, including targeting of produce for futuresampling.

Food Safety and Hygiene ControlsHorticulture Produce

Horticulture and Plant Health Division is responsiblefor ensuring that all primary producers of horticulturalproduce are registered in line with food safetylegislation. The Division implements a risk-basedsystem of official controls of primary producers of foodof non-animal origin to ensure compliance with EUfood safety and food hygiene legislation. This includesperforming inspections, audits, sampling, labelling andtraceability checks and other official controls asnecessary. A total of 111 notices were served onhorticultural food producers in 2018, notifying them ofinfringements under the Hygiene Regulations andfollow-up action was taken as necessary. The Divisionplays a key role in dealing with food safety incidentsinvolving Irish horticultural produce. All the requiredinformation regarding registering as a horticulturalfood supplier can be found on the Department’swebsite.(https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmingsectors/horticulture/registerasafoodproducerfruitveg/)

Inspections are also carried out at wholesale and retaillevel to ensure that potatoes, fresh fruit and vegetablescomply with national and/or EU marketing standards.Over 2,300 inspections were carried out in 2018 and themajor issues identified relate to labelling of country oforigin and substitution of potato varieties with cheapervarieties. All of the information relating to EUmarketing standards for fresh fruit and vegetables canbe found on the Department’s websitehttps://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmingsectors/horticulture/freshfruitvegetablesmarketingstandardseu/

17

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmingsectors/horticulture/registerasafoodproducerfruitveg/

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmingsectors/horticulture/freshfruitvegetablesmarketingstandardseu/

Food Safety

Fallen animal testing/disposal

In 2018, the Department provided financial support forthe collection of approximately 70,000 fallen animals,in particular bovines over 48 months of age, forsampling as required under the ongoing national BSEsurveillance programme.

The Department has approved 40 knackeries under theABP regulations for the collection and disposal of fallenanimals.

Import Controls on Animal Products

In 2018 there were 2,860 consignments of animal andfishery product imports presented to Border InspectionPoints (BIPs) in Ireland.

Licenses or authorisations for these products issued inaccordance with national rules are as follows:

*Please note in 2017 a new system for authorising Trade and Research samplelicences was brought into effect, removing the requirement to apply forlicences on a per consignment basis and changing to an annual licence

Animal Identification and MovementSystem

The Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) systemmanages the identification of all cattle, sheep, pigs,goats and horses. It manages the movements of sheep,goats and pigs at herd level and cattle at individuallevel for traceability purposes and to support exports.The system operates on a 24-7 basis in marts, meatfactories and export locations and an online facilityenables farmers and authorised agents to submit calfbirth registrations and cattle movements electronically. In 2018, a total of 2.34 million calf registrations wererecorded of which 67.3% of the registrations weresubmitted electronically.

18

2018 2017 2016 2015

Trade and Research samples* 93 233 762 782Non-harmonised products 9 12 8 14Re-imported consignments 53 42 58 17Pathogenic agents 26 21 33 37Autogenous Vaccines 5 7 4 3

Animal Heath and Welfare

Notifiable Exotic Diseases

Vigilance against the introduction of exotic diseasessuch as Foot and Mouth disease, Avian Influenza,Bluetongue and African Swine Fever, remained a keypriority during 2018. Exotic diseases are present inmany other countries and previous experiences havedemonstrated the absolute necessity of properlyregulating trade, ensuring high levels of biosecurity,surveillance, contingency arrangements and robustlegislation are in place to deal speedily and effectivelywith disease threats and outbreaks.

During 2018 there were a number of suspect exoticdisease investigations.

Number of suspect cases of exotic disease that wereinvestigated by Department staff during 2018:

* Unusually high number due to enhanced surveillance as a result of EVAvaccine shortage in 2017/2018. **Not notifiable to EU or OIE.

The Department implements an annual surveillanceprogramme for avian influenza in wild birds to informof the presence avian influenza virus subtypes and thepotential, subsequent risk to the poultry industry.During 2018, three wild birds tested positive for asubtype of avian influenza that was circulating widelyin wild birds in Europe (H5N6).

Wild Birds tested for Avian Influenza during 2018:

Contingency Planning

Contingency plans are in place for high priority exoticanimal diseases. These plans are based onrequirements set out in existing EU legislation andcriteria identified during past disease outbreaks inother European countries. They aim to ensure there is aswift, co-ordinated and effective response to control anexotic disease outbreak with the aim of eradicating thedisease, restoring official disease freedom whereapplicable and facilitating resumption of normaltrading patterns. The continued focus of theDepartment during 2018 was on reviewing existingcontingency plans and arrangements and ensuringthere is a high level of awareness amongststakeholders regarding exotic disease risk.

BSE

The Department is responsible for the effective co-ordination of BSE policy and surveillance, testing andcompensation arrangements, and the funding of same,as provided in Regulation (EC) 999/2001 and S.I.532/15. There were no positive BSE cases identified in2018.

Scrapie

Scrapie is a compulsorily notifiable disease in Ireland.There were nine new flocks identified in 2018, witheight Atypical scrapie and one classical scrapie.

Under the Active Surveillance Programme, 21,858scrapie tests were carried out in 2018, comprising:10,952 sheep tested at slaughter plants; 10,766 fallensheep; 83 at Local Authority; 57 depopulated sheep;and 151 fallen goats.

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African Swine Fever 1 0Equine Viral Arteritis* 14 0Foot & mouth disease 1 0Glanders 1 0Pigeon Paramyxovirus** 4 4Total 21 4

2018Suspect cases

investigatedDiseaseConfirmed

cases

2018 148 3 (H5N6)

No. of wildbirds tested

Year No. Positive


A National Genotype Programme (NGP) is in place toencourage sheep breeders to raise genetic resistance toscrapie in the National Flock. This is a voluntaryprogramme and since its introduction in 2004 to theend of 2018, a total of 86,535 sheep have beengenotyped.

Animal Health Computer System (AHCS)

The Animal Health Computer System (AHCS) is theprimary computer system supporting the Departmentin managing its disease testing programmes for animaldiseases such as TB, Brucellosis, BSE and BVD in cattleand Aujeskey’s disease in pigs. In total, this systemrecords the results of over 8 million tests annually andhas significantly contributed to administrativeefficiencies in the operation of the TB programme andthe attainment of Brucellosis-free status.Approximately 1,200 Department staff and 1,000Private Veterinary Practitioners use the application ona daily basis.

AHCS has been progressively developed and enhancedover the years. In addition to the completion oftechnical improvements during 2018, a number ofsystem enhancements were also delivered. Theseincluded:

� issuing payments to veterinary practitioners in respect of secondary blood tests carried out under the BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhoea) eradication programme,

� facilities to support beef exports to China,� facilities to issue online notifications to veterinary

practitioners, � functionality to issue TB and BVD test fee payments

to veterinary practices.

CLASS B DISEASESBovine Tuberculosis

Approximately 98.5% of the national herd was testedfor bovine TB in 2018. There was an increase in thenumber of reactors detected, 17,491 in 2018 comparedto 17,266 in 2017. Herd incidence of TB increased from3.47% to 3.51% in the same period.

Trends over the past three years are set out in thegraph below.

TB Statistics 2016-2018

The underlying TB risk is increasing due to significantlymore cattle in the national herd and larger individualherd sizes. Overall reactor numbers include not justskin-test positives, but also gamma-interferon (GIF)blood test positives, which make up approximately25% of reactors. A GIF test is used in high risk TBbreakdowns and can identify infected animals whichmay be missed by the standard skin-test. Trends inreactor numbers and herd incidence support the needfor a renewed focus on the TB eradication programme.

As the map below confirms, TB levels overall are at alow level but there has been a relatively high level of TBconcentrated in the north-east of Ireland throughout2018, i.e. Monaghan, Cavan, north-Meath. This mapshows new restrictions in the country in 2018.

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3.55%

3.50%

3.45%

3.40%

3.35%

3.30%

3.25%

3.20%

3.15%

18,000

16,000

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0 20163,682

16,9143.47%

Herds RestrictedNumber of ReactorsHerd Incidence

20173,885

17,2663.47%

20183,874

17,4913.51%


Badger Vaccination Programme

From January 2018, the formal badger BacillusCalmette- Guérin (BCG) vaccination programmecommenced in the areas which formed part of the fieldtrials, i.e. in parts of counties Monaghan, Longford,Galway, Tipperary, Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork and in allof Louth.

Badgers in a vaccination area are captured, vaccinatedand released instead of being captured and culled. Thevaccination program is continuing on an annual basis,so each year’s births in vaccination areas arevaccinated as they are captured. It is intended toexpand the vaccination area incrementally over thecoming years.

Research from the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiologyand Risk Analysis (CVERA) within UCD has confirmedthat adding badger vaccination to the measuresavailable in the TB Programme will deliver furtherprotection to cattle and results in eradication of bovineTB now being a scientifically achievable ambition.

TB Strategy 2030

The TB Forum was established in 2018. It comprisesrepresentatives from the Department of Agriculture,the agri-food sector and leading researchers. TheForum is tasked with developing proposals, to forwardthe eradication of TB by 2030 whilst at the same timerespecting the principles of the National FarmedAnimal Health Strategy.

In 2018, three meetings of the Forum took placecovering policy options for eradication by 2030 andgovernance of the programme going forward. Anumber of bilaterals in relation to the currentprogramme were also held.

It is expected that the Forum will publish an interimreport on disease and governance policy in mid-2019.

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Compensation Schemes

The On-Farm Market Valuation Scheme is the mainmeasure for compensating farmers for the removal ofreactors. Other schemes such as Depopulation Grants,Income Supplement and Hardship Grants compensatefor income losses due to restriction. Approximately€18.1 million was spent during 2018 on allcompensation elements of the TB Eradication andBrucellosis Monitoring Schemes.

EU Co-funding

EU Co-funding is paid a year in arrears. All bovinetuberculosis allocations were decreased in 2017 by thesame proportion (10.85%) across all eligible MemberStates following the decrease of the overall budgetavailable for veterinary programmes. The EU paid€9.85 million towards the 2017 Irish bovine TBeradication programme in August 2018. Thecorresponding figure for the 2016 programme was€10.4 million. The EU has confirmed a maximum of €8.3million will be made available for the 2019 Programme.Further reductions in EU co-funding for the programmeare anticipated.

Bovine Diseases Levies

Receipts from Bovine Diseases Levies increased in 2018to €7.5 million compared to €6.94 million in 2017.

Prosecutions

ERAD Division facilitates the prosecution of casesconducted by the Department’s Investigations Divisionand Regional Veterinary Offices (RVOs) under theAnimal Health and Welfare legislation. During 2018,there were four successful prosecutions, as comparedto two for 2017. The Division also successfullydefended an appeal in the Circuit Court against a herdrestriction notice. Two new cases were submitted tothe Chief State Solicitors office for consideration ofprosecution in 2018 compared to one case submittedin 2017. Also, significant progress was made on thecompletion of the ERAD Prosecutorial ComplianceProgramme to support RVOs in dealing with ERADrelated prosecutions.

Animal Health Ireland (AHI)

AHI concentrates on a number of key programmesrelating to Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD), InfectiousBovine Rhinotrachetitis (IBR), Johnes, Beef HealthCheck and Mastitis. These programmes are endorsedby the Department and are referenced in Food Harvest2020.

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€16,000€14,000€12,000€10,000

€8,000€6,000€4,000€2,000

€0

€2,731

€3,545

€3,832

2016

2017

2018

€11,262

€10,500

€14,255

€533

€540

€548

€6,307

€7,048

€7,313

€3,675

€4,759

€4,022

€1,908

€1,666

€1,618

€3,365

€3,464

€3,635

€995

€1,048

€1,435

Compensation On-FarmMarketValuation

Valuer Fees Vet Fee-Testing

Supplies TB Research Wildlife Other Costs

Expenditure 2016-2018

€0,0

00’s


In 2018, the Department provided funding of €774,800to AHI which was matched by industry stakeholders.

AHI commenced a compulsory BVD eradicationprogramme in 2013. Animals found to be persistentlyinfected (PI) with the virus cannot be sold through themart system and must be disposed of to a knackery,abattoir or meat plant. The rate of compliance with therequirement to test for BVD is just fractionally less than100% of calves born being tested for the disease. Theincidence of PI animals has reduced from 0.66% in 2013to 0.06% in 2018.

Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council

The Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council (FAWAC) isan independent advisory body to the Minister with awide representative base including veterinaryrepresentative bodies, animal welfare organisations,farming bodies and Government Departments – Northand South. Since it was established in 2002, FAWAC hasbecome recognised for its’crucial role in promotinganimal welfare. It provides considerable useful adviceto the Minister and has published a series of welfareguideline booklets on a range of areas, such as dairy,beef, pig, sheep and poultry farming and animalwelfare guidelines for horses at gatherings and sales.In 2018, they prepared a guideline booklet for DairyHerd Welfare which was launched in April 2019.Further information is available on the websitewww.fawac.ie.

The Early Warning/Intervention System(EWS)

The objective of the system, which operates underFAWAC, is to provide a framework within which animalwelfare problems can be identified and dealt withbefore they become critical. In many instances animalwelfare cases arise as a result of issues relating to thehealth and personal circumstances of the herd-ownerand, in those circumstances, EWS representativesadvise farmers to consider seeking assistance fromtheir GP or other health professionals.

Scientific Advisory Committee on AnimalHealth and Welfare

The principal function of the Committee is to providethe Minister with advice from a scientific perspective,on issues where independent expert opinion iswarranted. The Committee uses best availablescientific knowledge to advise on protecting andenhancing Ireland’s animal health and welfare and toprovide independent scientific support to the Ministerand to the Department on animal health and welfarematters where such support is a requirement ofEuropean Union legislation. A new Committee wasformed in 2017 and current topics include: the welfareimplications of the proposed time limits for thecastration of cattle and sheep; the dehorning/disbudding of cattle; the tail docking of sheep and theuse of restraint at non stun slaughter.

Animal Welfare Organisations

In 2018, the Department provided funding of €2.751million to 108 organisations throughout the countrywho are directly involved in the delivery of animal careand welfare services. The funding provided is intendedonly as a contribution to the overall costs of anorganisation. All applicants are required todemonstrate that they are fully compliant with allanimal health and welfare regulations. It is now arequirement of funding that all applicants must beregistered with the Charities Regulator. Details ofsuccessful applicants are available on the Departmentswebsitehttp://www.agriculture.gov.ie/animalhealthwelfare/animalwelfare/fundingtoanimalwelfareorganisations/

Control of Horses

The Control of Horses Act 1996 was introduced toaddress the risks posed to the public by stray andabandoned horses. Under the legislation, localauthorities have responsibility for implementing theAct, and the Minister for Agriculture may providefinancial assistance to the local authorities towardsexpenses incurred in control of horse activities. In 2018the Department provided funding of €419,000 to localauthorities towards expenses incurred by them underthe Act. The Department continues to engage withlocal authorities on an on-going basis in an effort to

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https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/animalhealthwelfare/animalwelfare/fundingtoanimalwelfareorganisations/


achieve savings and efficiencies in the operation of theAct. In addition, funding is provided to localauthorities for the development of horse projects intheir respective areas which help to foster community,leadership and education in responsible horseownership for young people.

Live Exports

Live exports play an important role in stimulating pricecompetition for domestic cattle, and providing analternative market outlet for farmers. In 2017, theDepartment reduced the veterinary inspection feepayable on live exports of calves less than threemonths of age from €4.80 to €1.20 per animal. Thisgave an important boost to the trade and broughtgreater equity in the fees payable for calves, weanlingsand adult cattle. Exports of calves rose by 50%, to over158,000, in 2018 compared to 2017.

In November, the Department reached agreement withLibya on a new veterinary health certificate for theexport of breeding cattle, and an amended veterinarycertificate for the export of fattening and slaughtercattle. The Department also secured agreement thatthe age of cattle that can be exported to Libya beincreased, from 24 to 30 months – increasingopportunities for exporters to export a wider range ofcattle. These new certificates entered into force inJanuary 2019.

While live exports of cattle to third countries decreasedin 2018 – due in part to currency fluctuations in theTurkish Lira, overall exports of live cattle rose by 31% toover 246,000 head in 2018 compared to 2017. Theincrease in exports was largely due to calf exports toSpain, Italy and the Netherlands. The Department alsoheld positive discussions with the Qatari authorities onan agreed health certificate for the export of sheep forslaughter.

Ireland achieved Aujeszky's Disease-freeStatus

Ireland achieved Aujeszky's Disease-free status in 2012.As an Aujeszky’s Disease-free region, Irish herd ownerscan export live pigs to other AD-free regions withoutthe high cost of compulsory isolation, herd surveillanceand blood testing. Testing is conducted on an on-goingbasis to demonstrate this status. Ireland retained itsNew Aujeszky Disease-free status in 2018. National Farmed Animal Health Strategy 2017-2022 The National Farmed Animal Health Strategy 2017-2022was launched in July 2017. The Strategy’s focus is thepromotion of animal health as a driver of optimisedproduction, improved margins for producers andproviding the best quality food for consumers. TheStrategy contains some 70 strategic actionrecommendations.

An Independent Review Body was established underthe Strategy to provide objective oversight andgovernance and is tasked with monitoring the progressand delivery of the Strategy and identifying anymodifications necessary to improve outcomes.

In 2018, two meetings of the Review Body took placeand the 2017 Annual Report was published.

Publication of Equine Surveillance DiseaseReport

The second All Island Equine Health Survey Report forthe period 2017/2018, commissioned by theDepartment and prepared by the Irish Equine Centre,was completed in October 2018.

Poultry Valuation Tables Project

In 2017, the Department awarded a contract for theestablishment of poultry valuation tables which will beused to determine amounts of compensation payablein the case of an outbreak of avian influenza in poultrythat necessitates a cull. Work commenced in 2017continued in 2018.

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LIVESTOCK

Cattle

The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) continuedto make excellent progress in 2018 towards optimisinggenetic gain for our national dairy and beef herd.

The Department provided funding of €1.12 million forprojects aimed at improving profitability such asprogeny testing, breeding information campaigns, andresearch on genetic evaluations and dataenhancements.

Specific highlights for ICBF in 2018 included;

� The continued operation of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme. This Rural Data Programme (RDP) funded initiative paved the way for the launch of the Genomics Beef Evaluations.

� Continued high uptake of Genomically selected Dairy AI bulls, with 60% of recorded dairy inseminations being to these bulls. The results fromboth the Next Generation Herd in Moorepark, and the ‘Daughter Proven’ results continue to show that these are helping to accelerate the rate of genetic gain in the National dairy herd.

� Further enhancement of the National cattle breeding database. Large volumes of essential data from a range of sources such as commercial farms and industry stakeholders continue to be collected which are essential for the production of high quality breeding indexes.

� Launch of the new Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP), which will enhance the level of data being collected on Suckler farms.

� The Gene Ireland progeny test programme continues to test a range of young bulls that are suited to the unique grass based production conditions.

The Department also provided ICBF with a grant of€850 million in 2018 to support its general operationalactivities.

BEEF CARCASE CLASSIFICATION

The role of the Department is to ensure that theclassification of carcases is carried out by slaughterplants in accordance with the relevant EU Regulations.

Inspections of meat plants are carried out byDepartment staff from the Beef Carcase ClassificationSection. These inspections are bound by EU legislativerequirements. Officials check the overall performanceof the carcass grading machine and the standard oftrim applied. The Department does not adjudicate onthe grading of the individual carcases.

Official checks must be conducted at least twice everythree months in all slaughterhouses which slaughter150 or more bovine animals aged eight months or moreper week as an annual average. Currently, theDepartment conducts on-the-spot inspections onaverage every 2 weeks. As part of each check, officialsclassify a minimum of 100 carcasses where mechanicalclassification is installed or 50 carcasses where onlymanual classification takes place.

Inspections

Under the legislation, each on-the-spot check shallrelate to at least 40 carcasses selected at random. TheDepartment check is therefore inspecting far morethan is required by the regulations.

The on-the-spot checks shall verify in particular: (a) the category of the beef and sheep carcass, (b) the classification, weighing and marking of the

carcasses, (c) the accuracy of the beef and sheep automated

grading methods by using a system of points and limits that determines the ongoing accuracy of the grading method.

Un-announced inspections are carried out byauthorised officers according to an inspection schedulein an Annual Control Plan, where infringements mayhave been noted during a previous inspection visit orwhere a complaint to the Department warrants animmediate inspection.

25


In 2018, classification officers checked approximately40,000 carcasses against the mechanical classificationsystem.

During the course of such an inspection the followingduties are performed by an authorised officer:

1. Examination and evaluation of classification performance,

2. Evaluation of standard of dressing (trim) during theproduction process in real time when possible and on cold carcasses,

3. Scales check using 260 Kg weights on the kill floor scales (secondary to NSAI checks). Examination of records concerning use of check weights

4. Comparison of hot and cold weights,5. Scrutiny of labelling particulars, 6. Examination of relevant records or processes, as

appropriate.

Sheep

The National Sheep Breed Improvement Programme isoperated by Sheep Ireland, working in conjunctionwith stakeholders. The Department providedinvestment funding of €350,000 for a range of measuresdesigned to implement a world class breedingprogramme. Significant progress was made in a rangeof areas in 2018 including;

� Continued growth in the number of pedigree ram breeders participating in LambPlus, resulting in over 40% of the rams sold in 2018 having Eurostar figures available,

� Continued growth in the proportion of performancerecorded breeding rams presented for sale in 2018.

� Expansion of the Sheep Ireland Central Progeny Test (CPT), by increasing the number of commercial ewes being performance recorded in this programme.

� Further links established with the Teagasc Better Farm sheep programme through data sharing.

� Further increase in commercial farmer awareness ofthe benefits of sheep genetic evaluations through many public events.

The Department provided a further €190,000 to SheepIreland in general funding support during 2018.

Horse and Greyhound Racing Industries

In 2018, Horse Racing Ireland received €64 million andBord na gCon received €16 million from the Horse andGreyhound Racing Fund.

Support for the non-thoroughbred horseindustry

The Department recognises the very importantcontribution of the non-thoroughbred horse industryto the economy and to the social fabric of manycommunities throughout the country. The sectorcontributes substantially to the generation of incomefrom a valuable alternative farm enterprise, toemployment, tourism, rural development and thesocial community and cultural life of the country. In2018 the recommendations made in a report byIndecon International Consultants which had carriedout a review of Horse Sport Ireland were pursued and anew Board for the organization was appointed tospearhead further change.

Under the Rural Development Programme (RDP)provision has been made for improving efficiency andprofitability in the equine sector through theKnowledge Transfer measure which has a budget of€100 million.

Over 300 breeders participated in Year Two of theKnowledge Transfer Equine Programme whichconcluded end of July 2018. These participantsattended meetings as well as producing a FarmImprovement Plan with their approved facilitator. Theyalso completed Animal Health Measures with anapproved veterinary practitioner. Meetings and actionsunder the Farm Improvement Plan for Year Threecontinued in Quarter 3 and 4 of 2018.

In 2018, the Department provided €2.5 million to thissector by way of grant aid to Horse Sport Ireland foractivities aimed at improving the quality of the Irishsport horse and at developing the sector.

Additionally, in 2018, a total of €850,000 was providedby the Department towards equine related measures.

26


Antimicrobial Resistance

Ireland’s National Action Plan on AntimicrobialResistance 2017-2020 (iNAP), developed jointly by thisDepartment and the Department of Health to addressthe urgent and growing challenge of antimicrobialresistance (AMR) for human health, animal health andthe environment worldwide. This action plan aims toimplement policies and actions to address AMR acrossthe health, agricultural and environmental sectors.The iNAP Animal Health Implementation Committeewas launched in January 2018, and chaired by Ireland’sChief Veterinary Officer. This committee has beentasked with overseeing the completion of the AnimalHealth actions outlined in iNAP and to this effect hasplayed a pivotal role in facilitating multidisciplinarycollaborative efforts across key stakeholders in theanimal health sector and including the EnvironmentalProtection Authority. Of the 44 projects set out forcompletion by the Animal Health ImplementationCommittee, 31 projects have commenced and areprogressing, 4 are completed and 9 are due tocommence as per the time frame agreed by the iNAPAnimal Health Implementation Committee.

In collaboration with Department of Health and theEnvironmental Protection Agency, the Department helda very successful event ‘One Health 2018: A JointApproach for Healthcare and Veterinary Professionals’in Dublin’s Convention Centre on Tuesday 20November 2018 to mark European Antibiotic

Awareness Day and World Antibiotic Awareness Week.The target audience were Ireland’s doctors andveterinary practitioners who, as antibiotic prescribers,are key players in combating AMR. Key note speakersincluded public health, animal health andenvironmental AMR experts. This event embodied twokeys objectives of iNAP in relation to improvingknowledge and awareness of AMR, and also optimisingthe use of antibiotics in human and animal health byfacilitating the sharing of learning and exchange of bestpractice amongst healthcare and veterinaryprofessionals in relation to use, prescribing andmanagement of antibiotics in human and animalhealth. A number of new AMR policy and guidancedocuments developed by the iNAP Animal HealthSector Implementation Committee were launched atthis event, including a policy document in relation tothe restricted use of Highest Priority CriticallyImportant Antibiotics (HP-CIAs) for human healthwhich outlines the circumstances under which thesevitally important antibiotics are to be prescribed andused in veterinary medicine. A Code of Good PracticeRegarding the Responsible Prescribing and Use ofAntibiotics in Farm Animals prepared by farming andveterinary stakeholders involved in the Animal HealthImplementation Committee was also launched at theevent.

27

Plant Health

Plant Health Strategy

The Development of a Plant Health Strategy was apriority for the Department in 2018. The aim of theStrategy is to facilitate the economic growth of theplant health sector, enhance biosecurity and protectthe wider environment. This Strategy will also assist inraising the awareness of the Plant Health sector byfacilitating greater stakeholder consultation andengagement with the general public. A number ofmeetings were held with internal and externalstakeholders in 2018 on this topic and a draft copy ofthe Strategy was produced by the end of the year. TheStrategy is due to be published in 2019.

Awareness Raising

The Department ran a “Don’t Risk it!” awarenessraising campaign at Bloom and the PloughingChampionships in 2018. This campaign was targetedat travellers, tourists and commercial businesses whoare bringing plants, plant products and other high riskitems made of plant material into Ireland from abroad.This campaign was fully endorsed by the EuropeanPlant Protection Organisation (EPPO) and theEuropean Commission via revised plant healthlegislation. The objective of the campaign was tohighlight the social, environmental and economicimpact of bringing in infected plant material orquarantine pests and diseases into Ireland.

New Plant Health Regulation

A new Plant Health Regulation will come into operationon 14 December 2019. The new Regulation focuses onreducing the risk of introducing quarantine pests to theEU by: focusing on high risk plants, developing a list ofEU priority pests, expanding the range of plantoperators to be registered with the competentauthority, applying stricter Protected Zonerequirements and requiring all plants for planting to beaccompanied with a Plant Passport. The Departmentparticipated in a number of Working Groups onDelegated and Implementing Acts for this Regulationthroughout 2018.

Under the new Regulation, plant health will, for thefirst time, be subject to the Official Controls Regulation.This introduces the possibility for co-funding of theannual surveys for priority pests and also thepossibility to compensate owners for the destruction ofplant material. In 2018, the Department carried outplant health surveys for certain quarantine pests underthe EU co-funded plant health survey programme.

All Island Approach to Plant Health

Under the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC),officials from both jurisdictions worked very closely inimplementing an agreed plant health work programmeand achieving an all-island approach to plant health.In 2018, officials from both sides continued to worktowards the shared objective of achieving andmaintaining good plant health status on the islandthrough continued sharing of information, science anddiagnostic capability.

Plant Health Surveys

The Department continued to survey for the presenceof the harmful organism Phytophthora ramorum in2018. A number of findings of the disease weredetected in horticultural nurseries/garden centres andon plants imported from other Member States. Allinfected plants and host plants within the vicinity weredestroyed.

Ireland has Protected Zone status for 13 harmfulorganisms present in other EU Member States but notpresent here. In accordance with CommissionRegulation EC No 690/2008 to justify Ireland’sProtected Zone status, the Forestry Inspectorateconducts annual national forest surveys and submitsreports annually to the European Commission. Nodetections of any of these organisms were made insurveys conducted during 2018.

In late 2018 the UK Forestry Commission announcedthe first finding of the bark beetle Ips typographus inthe wider environment in the UK at a woodland inKent, England. This finding represents an increasedthreat of the introduction of this bark beetle to Irelandand has prompted additional risk based surveys andmonitoring in 2019.

28

Plant Health

Other harmful organisms listed in the EU Plant HealthDirective of significance which also require mandatoryannual surveys and reporting include Anoplophorachinensis (citrus long-horn beetle), Anoplophoraglabripennis (Asian long-horn beetle), Bursaphelenchusxylophilus (pine wood nematode), Monochamus spp.(sawyer beetle), Phytophthora ramorum and Gibberellacircinata (pitch canker of pine). In 2018 Ireland alsosurveyed for a number of other pests (includingMonochamus spp) and carried out new surveys for EUpriority pests including Agrilus planipennis (emeraldash borer) and A. anxius (bronze birch borer). None ofthe above harmful organisms were detected in surveysin 2018.

Both Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (Ash Dieback disease)and Phytophthora ramorum disease outbreaks inJapanese larch continue to be monitored by theDepartment. Following the confirmation of thepresence of Dothistroma septosporum (DothistromaNeedle Blight [DNB]) in early September 2016, surveyshave been undertaken by the Department for DNBpresence within pine forests. Samples taken by theDepartment Forest Health Inspectors in early 2018were analyzed and laboratory results confirmed thepresence of Lecanosticta acicola on mountain pine(Pinus mugo) and adjacent Scots pine (P. sylvestris)trees at an arboretum in Co. Wexford. L. acicola(formerly Mycosphaerella dearnessii), is the causalagent of Brown Spot Needle Blight (BSNB) on pinespecies.

In April 2018, the Department announced a Review ofthe National Response to Ash Dieback Disease as itbecame increasingly evident that eradication of ashdieback disease is no longer feasible. Given thisposition, the Department has taken the view that itspolicy response must also change. This reviewcontinued throughout the rest of 2018.

Forest Health Import Controls

Import inspections of wood and wood products fromThird Countries regulated under the EU Plant HealthDirective were routinely conducted to ensurecompliance with entry requirements as part of theCustoms clearance process. In 2018, 613 Third Countryconsignments received a documentary check and ifappropriate to the requirements, were physicallyinspected. Six were found to be non-compliant with the

import requirements. Appropriate measures weretaken on the non-compliant imports ranging inter aliafrom requesting correct documentation to entryrefusal.

Under the EU internal markets regime, goods comingfrom within the EU are not subject to Customsclearance but monitored to ensure Ireland’s ProtectedZone requirements are met. The Department operatestwo designated Border Inspection Posts in Dublin andCork ports for import controls from Third Countriesand has an office in Waterford port. Shipments cominginto the other ports and airports are covered fromthese locations if required.

In 2018, the special measures, introduced in 2013 bythe European Commission regarding inspections ofwood packaging material associated with certaincommodities imported into the EU from China, werereplaced by a new Commission Implementing Decision(2018/1127/EU) which expands the range ofcommodities to be inspected and includes goods fromBelarus as well as China. In 2018, 152 containerisedconsignments from China were inspected, with fivenon-compliances detected where appropriatephytosanitary measures were imposed. In addition, theForestry Inspectorate carries out monitoring ofPortuguese wood packaging material in relation to thethreat of pine wood nematode (as required underCommission Implementing Decision 2012/535 asamended) and wood packaging from other countries.

The Forestry Inspectorate also provides advice anddeals with queries regarding import and exportrequirements related to wood/wood products andforest reproductive material. Phytosanitary Certificatesmay also be issued to accompany certainconsignments leaving the free trade area of the EU.

In 2018, Brexit preparedness work intensifiedparticularly in relation to contingency planning for ano-deal exit from the EU in March 2019 and the impactsof such an event on imports and exports of forestryproducts (including wood packaging material) to andfrom the UK.

29

Plant Health

International Standard for PhytosanitaryMeasures

The Forestry Inspectorate of the Department isresponsible for the implementation of the FAO, IPPC,International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures(ISPM) No. 15, Guidelines for Regulating WoodPackaging Material in International Trade – for themanufacture of Wood Packaging Material (WPM) to thisStandard in Ireland.

ISPM No. 15 describes phytosanitary measures toaddress the risk of introduction and/or spread ofquarantine pests associated with WPM made of rawwood, in use in international trade. WPM, used in thetransport of goods of all kinds and which is beingexported from Ireland to most non-EU countriesaround the world, is required to comply with ISPM No.15.

At the end of 2018, there were 45 companies registeredto operate under the scheme in Ireland. Companies inthe scheme are inspected to ensure compliance withagreed Standard Operating Procedures and that thewood packaging material is fully compliant with thestandard.

Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterium that infects the xylemtissues of a wide host range of plants (over 300 plantspecies). Ireland carried out a survey for the disease in2018 and the disease was not found to be present. In2018, there were further outbreaks of the disease onthe Union territory and the Department continued toplay an integral part in any discussions on this diseaseto ensure that the maximum protection against the riskof this disease entering the territory was achieved.Ireland continued with its national legislation forEpitrix. This legislation addressed the significant risk tothe indigenous potato sector arising from a possibleoutbreak of Epitrix.

In 2018, officials intercepted a significant quantity ofLiriomyza sp. on Spring onion imported from Mexico. Itwas determined that these pests could establish withinprotected crops in Ireland, which would putapproximately one-third of Ireland’s horticulturalindustry at risk if these pests were to establish. Irelandapplied for and was granted Protected Zone (PZ) status

for Liriomyza huidobrensis and Liriomyza trifolii. TheIsland of Ireland is the only area in the EU with a PZ forthese pests.

A comprehensive plant health action programme wasimplemented in 2018 to maintain Ireland’s high planthealth status and comply with Irish and EU legislation.Nurseries, garden centres, public parks, privategardens and the wider environment were intensivelyinspected for the presence of quarantine pests and,where found, eradication measures were implemented.Department officials also carried out inspections onplant producers to ensure they have complied with therequirements set down in EU legislation. As well assafeguarding plant health, these inspections alsofacilitate trade in plants and plant products. The 2018plant health surveys included:

� 1,028 sites inspected for Phytophthora ramorum� 1,437 samples taken for Fireblight (Erwinia

amylovora)� Over 1,200 inspections for leaf miners (Liriomyza sp)� Over 900 inspections for Tobacco Whitefly ((Bemisia

tabaci)� 968 samples taken for PCN (Globodera sp)� 548 inspections for Xylella fastidiosa� 233 samples for Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus� 350 inspections for Aromi bungii� 64 inspections for Zebra Chip.

In addition, approximately 400 nurseries wereinspected for the presence of Anoplophora chinensisand Anoplophera glabripenni, with no findings of thesepests. Intensive inspections and sampling of seed andware potatoes were carried out in 2018. There were nofindings of potato ring rot, potato brown rot and Epitrixin 2018. Inspections were also undertaken on plantpropagating material at several locations to ensuredisease free material was available.

� In 2018 under the Department’s Plant Health ImportControls Programme; 3,316 inspections took place on consignments of plants and plant products imported directly to Ireland through Dublin Airport and Dublin Port from Third Countries. This represents a 2.5% increase on the number of consignments subjected to Plant Health Import Controls on 2017. There were 48 interceptions

30

Plant Health

31

made by plant health inspectors in 2018, the reasons for which include the finding of regulated and harmful organisms, incomplete or absent phytosanitary certificates and fraudulent documentation.

� In 2018 under the Department’s Plant Health ExportControls Programme; 1,000 consignments were inspected and certified by plant health inspectors, facilitating their export from Irish businesses to 36 Third Countries across the world. The most frequentconsignments certified in 2018 included animal feed to China, India and Korea, potatoes to Iceland and UAE, mushroom casing to South Africa, Japan, Israel, and Canada and cut flowers to the USA.

Crop Variety Evaluation

The 2018, growing season was challenging. A cold andwet spring which resulted in delayed sowings wasfollowed by a summer drought. This resulted in belowaverage yields of all crops. Harvesting conditions in2018 were excellent as were sowing conditions forwinter cereal crops in autumn/winter 2018. A total of347 varieties of grass, clover, barley, wheat, oats, foragemaize, oilseed rape, beans and potatoes wereevaluated in National and Recommended List trials in2018. The varieties of each species considered mostsuitable for Irish producers were selected from thesetrials and published in Recommended Lists which areavailable on the Department’s website.

Number of Varieties Evaluated in 2018

Crop Number

Cereals 175 Grass 111 Forage Maize 20Oilseed Rape 25Clover 21Potatoes 14Field Beans 8

* Varieties that are duplicated in different trials are excluded.

A successful Open Day was held in June in associationwith the Irish Seed Trade Association at theDepartment’s Crop Evaluation Centre at Ballyderownnear Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork. Trial inspectionsand information visits for interested groups ofbreeders, agents, consultants and farmers were alsohosted at three Department centres and at otheroutside trial locations.

Seed Certification

The National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties(NCAPV) and the Official Journal of National PlantVariety Rights (PVR) are available on the Department’swebsite. For the main agricultural crops, the only seedsthat may be marketed in Ireland are of those varietieslisted in this catalogue or on a National Catalogue ofanother Member State. https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/publications/2018/NationalCatAgPlantVarieties200318.pdf

The EU Common Catalogue of Varieties of AgriculturalPlant Species available athttp://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_propagation_material/plant_variety_catalogues_databases/search/public/index.cfm

Area of Seed Crops Certified in 2018

In 2018, all grass seed used in Ireland was imported ascertified seed and the Department oversaw theformulation and labelling of grass seed mixtures.

Cereals 7,604 49,891Potatoes 242 2,825Oilseed Rape 491 570Beans 198 510

Area of CropsApproved under the

Seed CertificationScheme in 2018 (ha)

Tonnes of SeedCertified Under the

Seed CertificationScheme in 2018

http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_propagation_material/plant_variety_catalogues_databases/search/public/index.cfm

Plant Health

Seed Potato Laboratory

During 2018, 733 varieties (includes potato seedlingsnot yet named) were maintained in vitro at the PotatoLaboratories, Tops, Raphoe, Co. Donegal.Approximately 42,000 potato mini-tubers from 35different potato varieties and 11 unnamed potatoseedlings were produced in virus-proof tunnels. 8 newpotato seedlings and 7 sweet potato varieties weretested for distinctness, uniformity and stability asprescribed by the International Union for theProtection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). A fieldreference collection of 612 named potato varieties wasalso maintained.

The Potato Laboratory was assessed by the CommunityPlant Variety Office (CPVO) in August 2018 as part oftheir adopted entrustment approach and based onquality criteria for examination offices performing DUSexaminations on their behalf. The CPVO audit team washappy with the quality criteria in place at thelaboratory and recommended that entrustment forboth Solanum tuberosum (L.) (potato) and Ipomoeabatatas (L.) (sweet potato) continue for the next 3 yearperiod. The Potato Laboratory is the first and onlyentrusted office in the EU to conduct technicalexaminations on Ipomea batatis.

Horticulture

Growing conditions in Ireland were difficult in 2018 dueto excessive drought which meant expected yields werenot attained. Growers costs increased due to the needfor additional energy to chill and irrigate crops andincreased labour costs in an effort to save crops.Following industry consultation with the horticulturesupply chain, retailers increased prices to reflect theincreased costs incurred by growers for 2018. Marketdemand in Ireland for produce remained steady acrosseach sub sector.

Horticulture Output Value at farm-gate, 2017 -2018

The Horticulture sector saw strong investment in 2018with €4.9million paid under the CommercialHorticulture Grant Aid Scheme which supportedinvestments totalling €12.3 million. The number ofapplicants in 2018 was 170 (164 before Storm Emma),with six new applicants post Storm Emma, as theScheme was reopened following this event.

32

Product 2017 2018 % change€ m € m 2017 v’s 2018

Mushrooms 118.2 117 -1Potatoes 80.5 79.6 -1.1Field Vegetables 71.5 75.9 6Protected Crops 88.9 86.9 -2.2Outdoor Fruit Crops 11.2 10.9 -2.7Bulbs, outdoor flowers and foliage sector 9.1 9.3 2.2Hardy nursery crops, 53.9 56.8 5.4and other horticulture sectors

Total 433.3 436.4 0.7

Laboratory Service

VETERINARY LABORATORIES Virology

The Virology Division provides the Department with thecapacity to identify and characterise farmed animalviral diseases. The Division delivers the technicalaspects of emergency preparedness necessary tosafeguard against viral diseases exotic to Ireland andthose diagnostic, investigative and consultativeservices required to control and monitor endemic viraldiseases of Irish farm animals. In 2018, it assumed thenew role of National Reference Laboratory (NRL) forPeste des Petits Ruminants, in addition to currentlyhosting nine other NRLs.

The range of viruses handled by the Division is diverseand includes: Foot and Mouth Disease, Avian Influenza,Bluetongue, BVD, IBR, Classical Swine Fever, Rabiesand PRRS.

Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease, Atypical PorcinePestivirus, and Peste des Petits Ruminants are some ofthe newer viral diagnostics introduced in 2018.

Submission patterns

The pattern of tests requested is relatively steadythroughout the year 2018.

Table below shows a summary of 2018 testingfigures.

33

Species Tests for Tests TOTALantibody for virus

Bovine 70,490 34,417 104,907Porcine 5,166 7,566 12,732Equine 2,032 495 2,527Small ruminants 4,874 2,526 7,400Avian 99,051 8,824 107,875Total 181,613 53,828 188,602

30000

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0

Monthly Testing

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Avian Bovine Other

Laboratory Service

Virology Division had a range of 125 different testswhich it used in 2018 across 40 different matrices – themost common matrices in 2018 being serum (78%),swabs (10%), and lung (3%).

Bacteriology/Parasitology

This laboratory hosts a number of EU NationalReference Laboratory functions for zoonotic pathogensof food, feed and animal origin. These includeSalmonella, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli,Mycobacteria, Antimicrobial Resistance and Parasites.Completion of all proficiency trials organised by the EUCommunity Reference Laboratories was achieved.

The following samples were cultured for Salmonelladuring 2018:

� 1,506 poultry farm samples� 596 meal or feed mill related samples� 738 samples from poultry or pig carcasses� 715 compost or related by-product samples

In addition:

� 854 samples were received from external laboratories for serotyping.

� 643 samples from chickens and meat were subjected to selective culture methods to provide representative sets of E. coli and Campylobacter isolates coupled with specific selective tests to isolate antimicrobial resistant strains.

Antibodies were detected in 4,325 (21.4%) of the 20,245muscle juice samples from slaughtered pigs testedunder the Salmonella National Control Programme forpigs.

As the NRL for parasites, the mandatory nationalsampling of foxes undertaken in 2018 shows Ireland’sfree from Echinococcus multilocularis, one of the mostlethal parasitic zoonoses in temperate and artic regionsof the Northern Hemisphere. Over 400 samples from allcounties were examined for the parasite.

In addition to standard samples for respiratory diseasediagnosis, samples tested for Mycoplasma bovis alsoincluded either joint fluid or milk samples from dairycows in 2018 and a number of dairy herds reportedmultiple cases of adult dairy cows which displayedclinical signs of arthritis or mastitis associated withMycoplasma bovis.

In support of the TB eradication programme in 2018:� samples collected in meat plants from 5,504 bovine

animals, were tested for evidence of tuberculosis. � 3,957 histopathological tests and 3,090 cultures

were performed on these tissues. � Cultures were completed on 752 badger tissues

collected as part of badger removal following bovine TB outbreaks or badger vaccine trials.

� 1,001 sera tested in TB ELISA to support bovine disease investigations.

� Cultures were performed on 139 tissue samples submitted from deer.

� Mycobacterial speciation tests were performed on 957 isolates.

� Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis was isolated from 139 of 559 samples submitted for Johne’s disease culture.

34

Table below shows the top 5 tests in 2018.

Pathogen Number Pathogen Number Pathogen Number(antibody) (virus) (avian)

1 BVD 5,171 BVD 12,226 M. gallisepticum 34,0512 IBR 6,941 SBV 1,714 Avian influenza 38,3983 Schmallenberg 3,995 PRRSV 1,684 Infectious Bursal D 2,7284 Bluetongue 4,448 BHV1 1,521 Avian Pneumovirus 2,6485 EBL 2,665 BHV4 1,483 AEV 3,472

Laboratory Service

PATHOLOGY

Pathology Division comprises of three disciplines,Pathology, Clinical Microbiology andBiochemistry/Toxicology. The primary role of theDivision is to provide diagnostic pathology expertiseand resources to support the Departmentsresponsibilities in relation to animal health andwelfare, public health and trade. The post-mortemfacility provides veterinary laboratory diagnostic andanatomic pathology services for surveillance, with aparticular emphasis on pigs and poultry sectors.

Details of findings are included in the All-Island DiseaseSurveillance report.

Diagnostic Submissions to Pathology 2018:

Reference Laboratory Functions

Pathology Division hosts the EU National ReferenceLaboratory (NRL) for Transmissible SpongiformEncephalopathies (BSE and Scrapie) (TSE). The NRL isaccredited by INAB for the confirmatory diagnosis ofBSE and scrapie. The results of proficiency tests (PTs)were in compliance with the relevant EU legislation. These PTs are prepared by the EU CommunityReference Laboratories and consist of samples whichmust be tested by a wide range of techniques.Accreditation was maintained in 2018.

The TSE NRL is responsible for monitoring performanceof the TSE rapid testing laboratories in Ireland, PTsinvolving the preparation and delivery of coded braintissue homogenate samples to RTLs and subsequentanalysis and reporting of the results. All the resultswere satisfactory in 2018 for the two TSE rapid testinglaboratories approved by the NRL.

Pathology Division in conjunction with VirologyDivision, hosts the NRL for Contagious Equine Metritis(CEM) in support of the Irish Thoroughbred BreedersAssociation (ITBA) Codes of Practice. The NRL approvesprivate laboratories for the culture of Taylorellaequigenitalis the causative agent of CEM. The CEMlaboratory approval scheme consists of on-siteinspection audits and an annual proficiency trial, whichlaboratories must pass to retain their status. Currentlyeight private laboratories are approved by the NRL.

35

SPECIES Carcass Diagnostic Foetus Other Grand Total

Avian 101 247 348Bovine 19 530 2 30 581Equine 46 46Ovine 20 50 70Porcine 439 131 570Other 48 30 78Grand Total 627 1,034 2 30 1,693

Laboratory Service

Figures for TSE Submissions – 2018

Note the relatively large number of classical scrapie cases for 2017 was mainlydue to 10 cases in one flock. Only 4 flocks in total had suspect scrapie casessubmitted.

*1 case reported in 2017 as was sampled on 30 December 2016

Note: the only confirmed BSE case was atypical L-type – the first L-type case inIreland

Department Referral Laboratory forVeterinary Histopathology

Pathology Division provides expert histopathologyreferral and support to the Department. Areas coveredinclude referral of diagnostic surveillance cases,forensic cases such as suspect poisonings, appliedresearch and surveillance studies. This laboratory alsoprovides the histological processing andimmunohistochemistry capability for the VeterinaryLaboratory Service. It processed approximately c.

19,000 slides in 2018 with standard staining methodsand special staining techniques includingimmunohistochemistry.

The laboratory applied in 2017 for extension to scopefor accreditation of histology processing to H&E and in2018, INAB identified that the scope must includehistopathology interpretation. Results are pendingfrom INAB.

Cassettes Processed 2018:

Clinical Chemistry/Chemical PathologyLaboratory

This laboratory which among other services, performsmetal (macro, trace and heavy) and metabolites andenzyme activity analyses on animal samples. In 2018 itcarried out analysis on 836 samples for a range ofmetals.

The laboratory also participated in an interagencyinvestigation and follow up of suspect toxicity in herds.

Projects & Special Investigations

� Collaborative research project on respiratory disease in Irish pigs

� Investigation of TB in deer in an area of high reactor rates

� Development of immune histochemistry and In situ hybridization repertoire

� Development of multi-element method repertoire

36

OvineNRL Surveillance 2016 2017 2018Result Category

Atypical Active 1 1 9ScrapieClassical Active 1 11 1ScrapieClassical Passive 0 0 0ScrapieNegative Active 1 1 0Negative Passive 0 0 0Negative SMFS 0 0 0Total 3 13 10

BovineNRL Surveillance 2016 2017 2018Result Category

BSE Positive Active 0 1 0Atypical

L-typeBSE Positive Passive 0 0 0Negative Active 0 0 3Negative Passive 17* 15 19Unsuitable Passive 0 0 0

H&E Recut- TB H&E Total H&Eprep cases H&E cases slides slides produced

13,841 798 4,086 18,725

Laboratory Service

Veterinary Public Health RegulatoryLaboratory

The Veterinary Public Health Regulatory Laboratory(VPHRL) is accredited by INAB to ISO 17025:2005, withmore than 30 analytical tests covering residues,contaminants, microbiological and parasitologicalanalysis currently on its scope.

VPHRL is the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for 6groups of residues (Antithyroid agents, Beta-agonists,Chloramphenicol Antibacterial substances includingsulphonamides and quinolones, Carbadox andChemical Elements) and also for E. coli and Trichinella.

Ireland’s National Residue Plan (NRP) for 2018 wasapproved by the relevant European Commission. Thetesting under the NRL covers 18 distinct residue groupswhich fall into three broad categories:

� banned substances such as growth-promoting hormones and beta-agonists

� approved veterinary medicines � environmental contaminants

During 2018, more than 10,000 samples from food ofanimal origin were tested under the NRP at the VPHRL.In 2018 VPHRL was also charged with testing ofadditional milk samples as a result of monitoring in theSilvermines area.

37

No. samples tested for the NRP 2018 broken down by substance, matrix and whether suspect or target.HM: Chemical elements, CAP: Chloramphenicol, Phen: Phenicols, Sulfas: Sulphonamides

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

Eggs Kidney

Antibiotics Beta-Agonists Carbadox HM CAP Phen Suffas Thyrost at Trenbolone

Target

Suspect

Milk Muscle Liver Retina Urine Water Muscle Honey Milk Muscle Muscle Urine Eggs Muscle Muscle Urine Water Urine

Laboratory Service

44,322 individual results were obtained from 10,263NRP samples analysed. There were the following non-compliant results:

� B-agonists in bovine retina: 1 positive result for Sotalol. Related to the sampling officer’s medication.

� Thyrostats in urine: 14 bovine and 4 ovine. Possibly diet related.

� Antibiotics in bovine muscle: Seven non-compliances among suspect animals: oneTildipirosin at 2000 ppb, two Marbofloxacin at>300 ppb, one Penicillin G at >100 ppb, one Ampicillin at >100 ppb, and two Oxytetracycline at >400 ppb.

� Antibiotics in porcine muscle: One suspect sample found to contain 215.6 ppb of the sum of chlortetracycline and its epimer.

� Lead and mercury in muscle: 2 wild birds and 2 wilddeer with high levels related to the lead bullets. Onehoney positive for lead.

Microbiology

VPHRL provides laboratory support import controlsand the Inspectorate based at meat plant, ensuringcompliance with national and international standardsof food safety and hygiene. In 2018, over 2,000 officialsamples of meat and meat products were taken at thepoint of manufacture and at the border inspectionpoints and tested for a range of microbiologicalparameters. Of these samples, 22 were positive forSalmonella (13 were in imported poultry) and 1 forListeria monocytogenes.

In 2018, VPHRL continued the testing of beef carcasesand meat trimmings for Shiga-toxin producing E.colibacteria to support the exporting of Irish beef to the USmarket with a total of 1,448 swabs and 323 trimmingssamples analysed and three swabs found positive.

38

No. samples tested for the NRP 2018 broken down by substance and animal species.

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

Trenbolone

Thyrostats

Sulphonamides

Phenicols

Chloramphenicol

Chemical Elements

Carbadox

Beta-agonists

Antibiotics

Bovi

ne

Capr

ine

Deer

-Far

med

Deer

-Wild

Equi

ne

Hon

ey B

ee

Ovi

ne

Porc

ine

Chic

ken

Duck

Hen

Qua

il

Turk

ey

Laboratory Service

VPHRL carries out water testing with a total of 353official samples tested in 2018 for a range of physico-chemical and microbiological properties. Of these 20samples were found to contain microbiologicalcontamination of E. coli, Coliforms, Faecal Enterococciand/or Clostridium perfringens.

In addition VPHRL supports the certification of animalby-products (ABP). During 2018, a total of 950 officialsamples of ABP products were enumerated for levels ofEnterobacteriaceae while 75 samples from compostingplants were checked for levels of E. coli. Results showedthat 7 batches had exceeding levels.

Trichinella

Testing on 3,278 samples of porcine and 240 horsemuscle samples was carried out in 2018 as part of theofficial monitoring programme, and all of them werenegative.

AGRICULTURE LABORATORIES Dairy Science Laboratories (DSL)

The Dairy Science Laboratory service comprises threelaboratories, located at Backweston, Cork andLimerick. These provide microbiological and chemicaltesting services for milk/milk product samples takenmainly from dairy food business operators. The work ofthe laboratories also underpins the certification ofdairy products for export. Ready to eat freshhorticulture produce and water is also analysed.

Official control samples – Microbiology In 2018, the Dairy Science Laboratory service carriedout approximately 20,000 microbiological analyses on11,057 samples from milk processing establishments,liquid milk drinking plants and producers in thehorticulture sector to verify compliance with foodsafety, water and animal-by-product legislation. As aresult, the following notifications were issued:

� 18 Food Safety hazard notifications � 35 Process Hygiene criteria non-conformances � 4 Phosphatase/peroxidase criteria non-

conformances

� 24 non-conformance reports in relation to water samples

� 0 non-conformance reports in relation to animal-by-products samples

� 10 non-conformance reports in relation to samples from the processing environment

The three laboratories have Quality ManagementSystems in place based on the ISO17025:2005 standardto meet the requirements of the National AccreditationBoard (INAB). In 2018, the laboratories continued tomaintain and extend their scopes of accreditation.

Backweston received accreditation for two additionaltest methods and one extension to scope. Collectivelythe three laboratories have 64 accredited test methodsacross multiple matrices.

Continued participation in inter-laboratory trialsorganised by European Union Reference Laboratorieswere also undertaken.

Official control samples – Chemistry The Dairy Science Laboratories in Limerick andBackweston conduct compositional analysis of dairyproducts to verify compliance with the labelling andmarketing standards requirements set out inRegulation (EC) No 1169/2011 and Regulation1308/2013. In addition DSL Backweston carries outanalysis of infant formula and follow on formula toconfirm compliance with the compositionalparameters set out in Directive 2006/141 EC.

In 2018, 548 samples were analysed to confirmcompliance with the requirements of the EU legislationdetailed above. 20 non-conformance reports in relationto compositional analysis were reported.

National Reference Laboratory (NRL)

In 2018, the Backweston Dairy Science Laboratoryoperated as the National Reference Laboratory (NRL)for Listeria monocytogenes, Coagulase-positivestaphylococci and viruses in food.

39

Plant Health

The NRL offers a molecular typing and characterisationservice for Listeria monocytogenes isolates. In 2018,PFGE analysis was carried out on 250 isolates and PCRanalysis on 114 isolates for STEC. PCR analysis wascarried out on 1,785 L. monocytogenes isolates. Thistyping information is returned to the submittinglaboratories and can be of benefit to food businessoperators in tracing sources of contamination anddetermining if there are persistent strains in particularpremises.

The NRL also carries out analysis for the detection ofStaphylococcal enterotoxins in food. Backweston is theonly laboratory in the country to provide this service,Molecular typing is also carried out to determine if CPSisolates carry the genes necessary for enterotoxinproduction and in 2018 this analysis was carried out on22 isolates.

Pesticides, Plant Health, Entomology, FeedMicroscopy and Seed Testing Laboratories

Pesticides Laboratory Residues

In 2018, the Pesticide Residue Laboratory (PRL) carriedout the testing required under the pesticide residuecontrol programme agreed under the Departments’service contract with the FSAI. The following werecompleted:

*including seven PCB’s used as markers for the presence of dioxins.

The Maximum Residues Level (MRLs) for pesticideresidues in food were exceeded in 30 samples.

Formulations

The Pesticide Formulation Laboratory (PFL) providesthe analytical support necessary to assure the qualityof plant protection products on the Irish market. In2018, 64 samples of plant protection products wereanalysed to check that the composition of theseproducts complied with the authorised productspecifications. Of the samples analysed, one was outof specification.

Plant Health

Backweston:The Plant Health Laboratory (PHL) works closely withthe Control Divisions in the area of plant healthproviding an analytical service and expertise forregulated plant pests and diseases. The lab has closeco-operation with Inspectors at Dublin Airport andDublin Port, which are significant entry points forhorticultural produce into Ireland.

In 2018, the laboratory analysed the followingsamples:

In 2018 Phytopthora ramorum methods were validatedaccording to EPPO standard PM7/98.

The laboratory is also involved in honeybee health. In2018, the annual monitoring scheme, referred to as theSentinel Apiary Programme continued to beperformed. The aim of this scheme is to enable earlydetection of two damaging pests to honeybees (SmallHive Beetle, Aethina tumida and Tropilaelaps mite),which are statutory notifiable pests in the EU.

40

Comedy Type Number Number of samples of pesticides/

analysed /metabolitesresidues analysed for

Fruit, vegetables 825 Up to 470Cereals 63 Up to 470Food of animal origin 410 Up to 340 Infant formulae 37 Up to 470Animal Feed 107 Up to 470*

Sample Number of Number ofcategory samples positives

analysed for quarantine organisms

Plant pathology samples 921 225 (24%)Entomology samples 293 21 (7%)

Plant Health

Improvements in biosecurity continued to be made toensure that the laboratory performs to the higheststandards. Work also commenced on the task ofachieving accreditation for plant health and greaterintegration of the laboratories, as part of theimplementation of the Strategic Review of theLaboratories.

Cork:The Cork laboratory tested 1,447 plant samples forErwinia amylovora (cause of Fireblight disease ofRosaceae) with 23 positive detections and 557 potatosamples for Clavibacter michiganensis sepedonicus andRalstonia solanacearum (cause of Ring Rot and BrownRot of potato). In addition, the Cork laboratorysubsampled Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (cause ofChalara/Ash Dieback) samples.

Feed MicroscopyThe Feed Microscopy Laboratory (FML) is thedesignated National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for thedetection of animal protein in feed.

In 2018, the laboratory analysed the following samples:

The laboratory also received 13 samples of wheat andbarley destined for animal feed which were furthertested for botanical impurities by the seed testinglaboratory.

During 2018, the NRL was involved in the developmentof a new microscopy method for the analysis of aquafeed containing insects along with the EURL and NRLnetwork and the validation of the Porcine DNAdetection in animal feed in response to the proposedlifting of the feed ban for pigs and poultry.

Seed Testing The Seed Testing Laboratory (STL) provides a seedtesting service to other divisions within theDepartment, seed merchants, farmers, growers andforest nurseries. It is accredited by the InternationalSeed Testing Association (ISTA). Most agricultural andhorticultural seeds are required to meet minimum legalstandards for germination, analytical purity and otherseeds content before they are placed on the market.

A total of 8,924 seed tests, on cereals, grasses, foragecrops, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, trees, etc. werecompleted during 2018.

The % breakdown of the type of tests completed is:

Test type % of total seed tests

Germination 63%Analytical purity 30%Seed Health 7%Seed viability (tetrazolium) 5%Advisory 4%

The quality of cereal seed harvested in Ireland during2018 was of exceptional quality with consistently highseed health results being returned from the STLanalysis.

Crop Policy, Evaluation and Certification Division inconjunction with the Seed Testing Laboratorycontinued a regeneration programme of variouscommercial crop species and of their crop wildrelatives. The Laboratory maintains the NationalCereal Seed and Crop Wild Relative Genebank. Workon regeneration of seed of “heritage” barley varietiescontinued in 2018 with a view to commericalisation.Accessions not previously safely duplicated in theSvalard Global Seed Vault were deposited in 2018 tofurther aid in the protection and conservation of thesegenetics.

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Type Number of Number ofof analysis samples samples over

analysed the limit of detection

Presence of 260 0processed animal protein (PAP)Presence of 43 12Prohibited material

42

2Farm/Sector Supports and Controls

Provide income and market supports to underpinthe rural economy and theenvironment

Promoting Sustainable Farming

Rural Development Programme (RDP)

Irelands 2014-2020 RDP was formally adopted by theEU Commission in May 2015 and contains a wide rangeof measures which address all farming sectors andsupport community-led local development by meansof LEADER projects. Management of the overallProgramme is shared between the Department and theCommission, as the RDP is co-funded by the EU’sEuropean Agricultural Fund for Rural Development andthe national exchequer. EU support for the RDP willamount to €2.19 billion over the seven-yearProgramme lifespan. EU funding will be supplementedby exchequer funding, to bring the total supportavailable under the RDP to approximately €4 billion.

All the RDP schemes are fully operational. In 2018, anumber of amendments were made to the programme.Specifically, an additional €25 million for the Areas ofNatural Constraint (ANC) Scheme was approved.Changes to GLAS (agri-environment scheme) actions toaddress the fodder shortage due to adverse weatherconditions. The roll out of the European InnovationPartnership (EIP) projects continued, with anadditional 10 projects approved and an extra €10million allocated, bringing the amount of fundingavailable to EIP projects to €57 millon. The OrganicFarming Scheme re-opened in November on a targetedbasis.

Progress on the implementation of the RDP ismonitored and reported to the Commission annually,and the evaluation of the RDP’s contribution toachieving policy objectives is reported periodicallyover the Programming period. The last reportassessing Programme results was published in July2017. Preparations for the next report, a mid-termevaluation of the Programme impacts to the end of2018, commenced in September with the appointmentof Indecon Economic Consultants. This report will beincluded in an enhanced Annual ImplementationReport to be submitted to the Commission in June2019. Further reports on the GLAS evaluations werepublished on the Department’s website during 2018,including Baseline Evaluation - Field Survey, baselinestudies of both scheme participants and non-schemeparticipants. A Review on Expenditure under the RDPwas published in June 2018; a further update onexpenditure to end of 2018 will also be published.

Agri Environment Options Scheme (AEOS)

Under this Scheme, farmers are paid to undertakeactions that address the environmental challenges ofloss of biodiversity, improvement of water quality andcombating climate change. The scheme has threetranches, AEOS 1, AEOS 2, and AEOS 3. Fewer than2,500 participants remained in AEOS 3 during 2018 andtheir contracts ended by 31 December 2018 with asmall number of residual payments to be made during2019 for actions that are payable a year in arrears.

Green Low-Carbon Agri-EnvironmentScheme

Over 50,000 participants were approved into GLASunder GLAS 1, 2 and 3. The target level of participationset in the Rural Development Programme (RDP) wasexceeded well ahead of schedule. GLAS providessupport to farmers aimed at encouraging actions thatpromote biodiversity, protect water quality and combatclimate change. GLAS has a range of over 30 actionsavailable for selection by participants in consultationwith their Advisor. The maximum annual paymentavailable to participants in this 5 year scheme is €5,000under the general scheme with provision for paymentof up to €7,000 (known as GLAS+) where the participant

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is required to give exceptional environmentalcommitments in a limited number of cases. Over €500million has issued to GLAS participants to date.

Targeted Agricultural ModernisationSchemes (TAMS)

The TAMS II suite of measures under the RDP opened in2015 and remains open on a tranche by tranche basis.Payments were made throughout 2018 as approvedworks were completed and payment claims submittedto the online system. The measures available underTAMS include: -

� Young Farmers’ Capital Investment Scheme� Low Emission Slurry Spreading Equipment Scheme� Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage

Scheme� Dairy Equipment Scheme� Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme� Organic Capital Investment Scheme� A Tillage Capital Investment Scheme opened in

March 2017.

Payments of €66.7million issued in 2018.

Locally-Led Schemes

These schemes promote local solutions to specificenvironmental issues and complement the much morebroadly-based GLAS measure under the RDP 2014-2020.

The Burren Programme is an established five year agri-environment scheme which currently has 328participants. The Burren Programme is widely seen as abenchmark for environmentally focused farming inEurope. It encompasses both results-based habitatmanagement and complementary non-productivecapital investment site works and is specificallyfocused on conserving the unique farming landscapeof the Burren. In 2018, approximately €1 million ofpayments were issued to farmers.

The Hen Harrier Programme is a five year programmeand focuses specifically on farmers managing habitatin the six Hen Harrier SPAs. 629 farmers were initiallyaccepted into the programme for 2018 but applications

will continue into 2019 with up to 1,600 farmersexpected to join overall. Payments of €1.154 millionwere issued to farmers in 2018 along with a further€96,000 paid in local actions.

The team selected to administer the Pearl MusselProject began work in early 2018. The project is a pilotagri-environment programme that seeks to improvethe quality of watercourses to benefit the endangeredfreshwater pearl mussel. It is locally adapted, results-based and focuses on the top eight freshwater pearlmussel catchments in Ireland. It will target up to 650farmers across these catchments and will beginpayments in late 2019.

The European Innovation Partnership (EIP) initiativefunds co-operation between different stakeholdersincluding farmers, researchers, advisors andbusinesses who form an Operational Group, to identifyinnovative solutions to particular challenges. An overallfunding package of €24 million was set aside forallocation to EIP projects which were selected from twocompetitive open calls. 12 projects were selected forimplementation from the first open call and theseprojects received payments of €590,000 in 2018. Afurther 9 projects were selected under the second opencall in October 2018 and these will commence in early2019.

Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme

The Heritage Council administers the GLAS TraditionalFarm Buildings Grant Scheme for the conservation andrepair of traditional farm buildings and other relatedstructures on behalf of the Department of Agriculture,Food and the Marine. The principal objective of thisscheme is to ensure those traditional farm buildingsand other related structures that contribute to thecharacter of the landscape, and are of significantheritage value, are conserved for agricultural use. In2018, payments of €834,000 were issued to 54applicants to carry out works on these structures.

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Cross Compliance Checks

EU cross compliance requires that farmers mustcomply with 13 Statutory Management Requirements(SMRs) and seven Good Agricultural and EnvironmentalCondition (GAEC) standards, relating to:

� climate change� good agricultural condition of land � public, animal and plant health and � animal welfare

These requirements are monitored by mandatoryinspections on between 1-3% of farms annually and arean effective means of protecting the environment andensuring that farmers comply with a wide range ofpublic goods regulations concerned with food andanimal welfare. In 2018, a total of 1,445 Full CrossCompliance and 4,299 Animal Identification andRegistration inspections were carried out.

Direct Payments

Annual expenditure of almost €1.4 billion, on the BasicPayment, Areas of Natural Constraints and RuralEnvironment Protection and Agri-Environment Optionsschemes, was made by this Department to helpachieve the objective of protecting farmers’ incomesand of maintaining the optimal number of familyfarms. Over €1,158 million was paid to almost 122,000farmers under the 2018 Basic Payment Scheme and€226.6 million was paid to 94,650 applicants under the2018 Areas of Natural Constraints scheme. These directpayments to farmers in 2018 were paid within theservice delivery targets of the Farmers Charter andAction Plan.

Beef Data and Genomics Programme

The Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) wasapproved as an agri-environment scheme under theRural Development Programme. It was launched inApril 2015. Funding of €300 million was allocated forthe programme which runs for 6 years from 2015. In2017 BDGP II was launched to cover the period 2017 –2022.

It is expected that through the use of genotyping anddata collection that farmers will be more easily able toidentify the best breeding stock from which to sourcetheir replacement animals and that the selection ofthese higher quality animals will ultimately lead to areduction in emissions from the agricultural sector inIreland.

For 2018, 24,544 farmers continued to participate inBDGP I and II. Payments amounting to €39.5 millionissued to 22,032 participants in December 2018 inrespect of the 2018 scheme year. Payments willcontinue as herds become eligible.

Knowledge Transfer Programme

Ireland’s Rural Development Programme includes aprovision for a Knowledge Transfer programme whichis informed by experience with previous discussiongroups including the Beef Technology AdoptionProgramme (BTAP). The programme whichcommenced in 2016 moves away from the task-basedapproach of previous schemes and focuses on keypolicy priorities including profitability, environmentalsustainability, breeding and herd health. One to oneengagement between the KT Facilitator and farmer iscomplemented by group discussion and the sharing ofexperience and information between participants.

Approx 18,900 farmers participated in Year Two of theProgramme attending meetings and producing a FarmImprovement Plan with their approved KnowledgeTransfer Facilitator. This Farm Improvement planincludes animal health measures completed with anapproved private veterinary practitioner. Year Two ofthe Scheme concluded end of July 2018 and Year Threecommenced in August 2018. Payments are ongoingwith approx. €12.4 million issued to participants acrossall 6 Knowledge Transfer sectors and a further €9.25million issued to Facilitators in 2018.

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Customer Service

Table below indicates the progress achieved on thetargets specified in the Customer Service Action Plan.Achievement of service delivery targets is predicatedon correct scheme requirements and documentationbeing available.

2018 Performance on Customer Service DeliveryTargets

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SERVICE

Basic Payment Scheme

Areas of Natural Constraints

TARGET DELIVERY TIME

EU Regulations provide thatpayments shall be made once ayear within the period 1December to 30 June of thefollowing year. However, EUregulations also allowed for 70%advance payments from16.10.2018. Balancing paymentscommenced on 3.12.2018.

While there is no regulatorypayment date, it is generallyaccepted that mid/lateSeptember is the earliest date bywhich payments can start issuing;this is acknowledged in theFarmers’ Charter.

2018 PERFORMANCE

Advance payments commencedon 16.10.2018 with balancingpayments commencing on 3December. By end 2018 €1.158billion had been paid to over 99%of applicants.

Payments under the 2018 ANCscheme commenced, onschedule, during the weekcommencing 17 September 2018with 77,000 farmers being paid€185.6 million. In keeping withthe Departments’ commitmentsunder the Charter, 100% ofcleared cases were paid at thistime. This was an increase of2,000 farmers and €25 million onthe opening payments inSeptember 2017. The increase inthe amount paid is as a result ofincreased ANC rates further to theadditional €25 million in the 2018Budget.

As at 31 December 2018 €222.9million was paid to 92,820 (92%)applicants.

Customer Service

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SERVICE

Beef Data and GenomicsProgramme

TAMS

Forest Service Grant Schemes

Forestry Premium Scheme


Payments for a scheme year tocommence in December of thescheme year.

Issue of approval followingreceipt of valid application within3 months.

Approval for payment followingreceipt of notice of completion ofworks and valid supportingdocuments within 3 months.

Issue of payment followingapproval for payment within 6weeks .

Annual forestry premiumpayments were paid from 4January to applicants who usedthe Department online system.The Annual bulk payment run forpaper based applications wascarried out in April and paymentsin respect of both types ofapplications continuedthroughout the year.

2018 PERFORMANCE

Payments amounting to €39.5million issued to almost 22,032participants in December 2018.

100%

The vast majority of validapplications for approval andpayments were made within thetargets as set out in the Farmers’Charter.

€27.8 million paid in January 2018as part of the first bulk premiumrun in respect of 7,300 onlineapplications.

€17.3 million paid in April 2018bulk premium run (paper forms)in respect of 5,729 applications.

The total value of the 19,443annual forest premiums paid in2018 amounted to €68 million. 54% of premium applicationswere made on line.

Customer Service

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SERVICE

Compensation – Bovine TBEradication and BrucellosisMonitoring Schemes

BSE Scrapie

RiceImport licenses

Milk & Milk ProductsExport licenceImport licences

Tariff quota for unspecifiedcountries of origin

Non-quota preferential licence

Tariff quota licence for specifiedcountries

General import licences


TB and Brucellosis compensationto be paid within 3 weeks of thedate of receipt of the requiredcorrect documentation or ofeligibility as per terms andconditions.

BSE Compensation - 100% paidwithin 21 days of receipt ofcompleted documentation.

Scrapie Compensation - 100%paid within 21 days of receipt offinal documents.

24 hours

24 hours

5 working days

5 working days

5 working days

1 working day

2018 PERFORMANCE

97.4% of Reactor Grant Valuationcompensation payments weremade within 3 weeks of receipt ofall the required documentationand over 99% were made within 8weeks.

97.8% of Income Supplement,Depopulation and Hardship Grantpayments were made within 3weeks of receipt of the requireddocumentation and over 99%were made within 8 weeks.

All applicants paid within therequired time-frame.

All applicants paid within therequired time-frame.

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Scheme Operations

Tables below give operational details on the mainschemes operated by the Department in 2018

2018 Payments

Scheme Applications Applications Payments made*received in 2018 processed in 2018 € M

Basic Payment Scheme/Greening 122,904 121,765 1,158

Areas of Natural Constraints 101,146 92,820 222.9

AEOS 2,138 1,907 8,219

Afforestation Grant 1,729 1,707 18.3

Forestry Premium 19,516 19,443 68.3(Afforestation Scheme)

Early Retirement 0 0 0.808

TB and Brucellosis Compensation 4,360 4,311 18.1

BSE Compensation 20 20 0.023

Scrapie Compensation 9 9 0.028

Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) 0 23,424 42.39

Investment Aid for Commercial Horticulture 157 157 4.913

Organic Farming Scheme 225 1,523 10.518

Scheme of Organic Grant Aid 7 6 0.05

TAMS (exc. Bioenergy) 7,471 4,537 66.714

Sheep Welfare Scheme 20,845 20,685 16(represents advance payment at 85%)

*This column refers to all payments made to the afforestation scheme in 2018 and this can involve commitments over and above applications processed in that year.

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Policy and Strategy

Provide the optimumpolicy frameworkfor the sustainabledevelopment of theagri-food sector

EU Interactions

EU Interactions

Bulgaria and Austria shared the role of the President ofthe Council of European Union in 2018. Bulgaria fromJanuary to June and Austria from July to December.The key item discussed by Member States, includingIreland, throughout 2018 was the new legislativeproposals for the next CAP 2021-2027. The Commissionproposal on Unfair Trading Practices, focusing inparticular on farmers’ position in the supply chain, alsofeatured strongly during 2018. The ongoing marketsituation across the various agricultural sectors wasdiscussed on a regular basis. Discussions alsocontinued on a number of legislative proposalsincluding, the Spirit Drinks Regulation, official controlsand plant health. Ireland also submitted a fourthamendment to its 2014-2020 Rural DevelopmentProgramme in 2018.

Brexit

The Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declarationwere agreed between the EU27 and Prime Minister Mayin November 2018, subject to ratification by theEuropean Parliament and the UK Parliament.

The main impact of the Brexit vote on the sectorcontinues to be the effect of sterling volatility on thosebusinesses that have a significant trading relationshipwith the UK. This drop in currency value continues tohave a negative impact. The medium to longer termthreats from Brexit, which are expected to include thepossible introduction of tariffs on trade between theEU and UK and potential divergences in regulationsand standards between both countries post-Brexit, arebecoming more likely as efforts to have the WithdrawalAgreement and Political Declaration agreed by the UKParliament are proving difficult.

Budget 2019, introduced a €78 million Brexit packagefor farmers, fishermen, food SMEs and for Brexitpreparedness costs. The package includes €23 millionin additional support to Areas of Natural Constraintrecipients; €20 million to applicants for a new BeefEnvironmental Efficiency Programme; and €1 million insupports for the horticulture sector. A sum of €27million was allocated for capital funding for the foodindustry; and €7 million for additional staff and ICTrequirements for increased import controls at portsand airports.

In order to keep key Member States appraised ofIrelands concern on the impact of Brexit on the agri-food and fisheries sectors, Minister Creed continued hisengagement with EU counterparts in 2018. During theyear he met with his counterparts in Austria, Belgium,Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland,Romania, Spain, and The Netherlands. The purpose ofthese engagements was to build alliances and assessthe degree to which these Member States wouldsupport Ireland’s efforts to have the agri-food andfisheries impacts of Brexit specifically and adequatelytaken account of in the future relationshipnegotiations.

Minister Creed also met regularly with CommissionerHogan to discuss the potential impact of a disorderlyBrexit on the agri-food and fisheries sectors and tostress the need for the Commission to be ready todeploy a range of measures to mitigate the potentialimpacts on farmers and processors. CommissionerHogan confirmed the EU’s readiness to respond andsupport Ireland in such circumstances.

Minister Creed met Secretary of State Gove on twooccasions during the year to discuss Brexit.

On preparedness at our ports and airports, theDepartment has focused on the arrangements that willbe required, in the event of a no deal Brexit, to allow itfulfil its legal obligations with respect to importcontrols for agri food products as efficiently aspossible, while also ensuring the minimum possibledisruption to trading arrangements.

This involves plans to front-load staff recruitment, tosecure additional temporary physical space and toaccelerate the provision of appropriate IT hardwareand software solutions.

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EU Interactions

CAP Post-2020 The Future of Food and Farming

The Communication from the Commission on ‘TheFuture of Food and Farming’ which was released inNovember 2017 continued to be discussed at EU leveland the shape of the future of the CAP post 2020intensified under the Bulgarian Presidency. TheCommunication proposes a simpler CAP, withsignificantly more flexibility for Member States, and asharper focus on objectives and results, particularly inthe environmental area. The Communicationacknowledges the solid performance of the CAP since1962, but recognises that further work can be done incertain areas.

Public Consultation

The Department launched an eight week publicconsultation on the future of CAP post 2020 from 26January to 23 March 2018. As part of this process atotal of six public meetings were held in variouslocations around the country in February 2018.

The Department received 164 written responses to thepublic consultation process, the majority of which werefrom farmers/farming organisations. The need for astrong CAP budget was a common theme in theresponses received.

Minister Creed hosted a seminar on the new CAPproposals for interested stakeholders, including farmbodies, state agencies and the environmental pillar on4 July 2018. The outcome from the public consultationprocess and the stakeholder conference is feeding intothe Department’s analysis and policy response to theproposals.

Common Agricultural Policy 2021-2027

The legislative proposals for the next CAP 2021-27 werepresented on 1 June 2018 by Commissioner Hogan.The existing four CAP Regulations (1305/2013,1306/2013, 1307/2013 and 1308/2013) are beingreplaced by three new Regulations. The DirectPayments Regulation (1307/2013) and the Rural

Development Regulation (1305/2013) are beingconsolidated in one Regulation which establishes ruleson the CAP strategic plans to be drawn up by MemberStates. The proposed Horizontal Regulation on theFinancing, Management and Monitoring of the CAPmaintains the two pillar structure. However it isadapted to address the requirements of the newdelivery model and reflects the increased flexibility andsubsidiarity for Member States in implementing theCAP. The third and final regulation is an amendingregulation, amending the current CommonOrganisation of the Markets (CMO) Regulation(1308/2013).

The so called ‘new delivery model’ requires MemberStates to include all interventions carried out underPillar I and Pillar II in their CAP Strategic Plan. It shiftsthe focus from a compliance based model to aperformance based model. There is a comprehensiveset of indicators which the Commission will use toassess progress towards targets set during the approvalprocess of the CAP Strategic Plan.

The nine key objectives of the CAP will be the basisupon which the future CAP Strategic Plans will be builtand will be the cornerstone of a more results-orientedpolicy.

The CAP legislative proposals are under ongoingconsideration at EU level. The Austrian Presidencyoutlined an intensive programme of Working Partymeetings to discuss specific aspects of the new CAPproposals for the duration of their Presidency. Theproposals were discussed at 25 Working Groupmeetings, 7 Special Committee of Agriculturemeetings, and at each of the Agri-Fish Councils duringtheir Presidency.

The Austrians, had hoped to achieve Councilagreement on the CAP proposals by the end of theirPresidency, but instead, they presented a progressreport at the December 2018 Agri-Fish Council of thework done to date.

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EU Interactions

CAP Simplification

Simplification of the CAP continued in 2018.Simplification of regulations concerning import andexport Tariff Rate Quota is ongoing and is due to befinalised in 2019. The Commission published theGreening simplification measure at the Agri-FishCouncil in July. Many of the simplification proposalsfocused on changes to various rules relating toEcological Focus Areas.

The Omnibus Proposal forms part of the EuropeanCommission’s mid-term review of the MultiannualFinancial Framework 2014-2020. In addition to revisingthe general financial rules concerning multiannualprogrammes, the Omnibus Proposal includessimplification-related changes to some primary CAPlegislation, including the Direct Payments and RuralDevelopment regulations.

Common Fisheries Policy Reform

A report on the functioning of the Common FisheriesPolicy (CFP) is due to be submitted by the Commissionto the European Parliament and the Council by the endof 2022. The overarching goal of this policy is to ensurethat fishing and aquaculture are environmentally,economically and socially sustainable, thus resulting ina competitive and viable seafood sector for all. Keyfeatures of this policy include achieving the maximumsustainable yield (MSY) rate for all fish stocks in allcases by 2020 as well as a discards ban (LandingObligation) which has phased in over the period 2015to 2019.

Implementation of the key elements of the CFPcontinued throughout 2018 at both EU and nationallevel. Negotiations on the multi-annual plan fordemersal stocks in the Western Waters, which isextremely important from an Irish perspective, resultedin a provisional political agreement between theCouncil, the Commission and the European Parliamentin 2018. This plan is on schedule to come into full effectearly in 2019.

The discard ban or landing obligation, which is a keyelement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), wasphased in over a number of years and fullyimplemented by 2019. The North West Waters RegionalGroup of Member States, (Ireland, Belgium, France, UK,

Netherlands and Spain) set up to manage fisheries at aregional level, met regularly throughout 2018 todiscuss various implementation issues and also toagree to additional measures in preparation for fullimplementation in 2019.

Fishing opportunities or TACs (Total Allowable Catches)negotiated at the December 2018 Agriculture andFisheries Council were negotiated and fixed in line withthe MSY objective and will bring 59 stocks for whichdata are available to MSY levels in 2019, as opposed tofive stocks in 2009. The Minister secured 193,613tonnes of quotas worth €260 million for Irish fishermenfor 2019.

Market situation

The market situation across the various agriculturalsectors continued to be monitored during 2018. Theearly part of 2018 saw the Commission adopt a strategyfor reducing the overhang of SMP stocks in publicintervention through the introduction of anamendment to Implementing Regulation 2080/2016“as regards the periods for the submission tenders”,which resulted in effectively doubling the frequency oftenders (previously 1 event per month) for sale ofproduct in intervention. The amendment provided for“two partial invitations to tender per month”, except forSeptember which had just one tender that month.

Forestry Sector

At EU level, during 2018, Member States continued toaddress a range of issues with some of the mostprominent being: signing and conclusion of theVoluntary Partnership Agreement between the EU andVietnam on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance andTrade (FLEGT); forest damage in Europe; and EUpreparations for the 13th session of the United NationsForum on Forests (UNFF13).

EU interactions in 2018 were to a large extentconcerned with global forest issues. The VoluntaryPartnership Agreement with Vietnam includescommitments and action to address trade in illegaltimber and Vietnam must implement a Timber LegalityAssurance System.

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EU Interactions

Forest fires affecting Europe in October 2018 werediscussed at EU level, resulting in some calls for betteruse of EU tools to enhance the resilience of Europeanforests.

Prior to UNFF13, the Council of the European Unionprepared conclusions outlining matters of importanceincluding inter alia the key role of the EU in promotingSustainable Forest Management, improving coherenceof forest-related international activities and theimportance of monitoring, assessment and reporting.

Organic Farming Proposal

The Commission proposal on organic production andlabelling of organic products, first submitted to Counciland the European Parliament in March 2014, sought toaddress identified weaknesses and outstanding issuesin the existing legislation and provide for legal certaintyto allow the sector to develop.

The dossier has gone through a lengthy co-decisionprocess with negotiations between Council andParliament generating much technical and politicaldebate. The text was adopted in 2018 and the newRegulation will enter into force on 1 January 2021. Thelong lead in time is required to develop the detailedrules via delegated and implementing acts and provideoperators with time to adjust to the new rules.

Climate Action

Final adoption of both the Effort Sharing Regulation(ESR) and Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry(LULUCF) files was achieved in 2018.

The regulation sets out binding emission reductiontargets for Member States and contains details offlexibilities. Ireland has potential to use up to a capequivalent to 5.6% of 2005 emissions (2.7 Mt CO2eq perannum) from LULUCF in order to meet its emissionreduction requirements, based on a combinedcontribution of net afforestation and cropland andgrassland management activities.

Ireland maintained a whole of Government positionregarding engagement with the process and willcontinue to work with colleagues across the variousGovernment Departments.

The European Parliament voted on the RenewableEnergy Directive (RED) II in January 2018 and triloguediscussions began in February 2018.

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International Interactions

World Trade Organisation

There was no outcome on the Agriculture file at MC11in Buenos Aires in December 2017, and no agreementon a future work programme. During 2018 there was nochange in WTO members’ positions. The chair of theCommittee on Agriculture in Special Session launcheda new work programme in September 2018 withmonthly meetings focusing on specific issues, with theaim of agreeing a work programme for 2019. The jointEU/Brazil proposal on Domestic Support, Publicstockholding and cotton remains on the table but it isunlikely to feature after the failure of negotiations atMC11.

Free Trade Agreements

Negotiations continued on a range of free tradeagreements between the EU and third countries.

� EU-US (TTIP) In July 2018 the EU and the US began talks on a limited trade deal which would see the elimination of tariffs on industrial goods only. However it emerged that Fisheries may also be included in the agreement. A number of Member States argued thatfisheries should not be included in the negotiations with industrial products and should be excluded from the scope.

� Canada CETA In2017, the European Parliament gave its consent for CETA and the agreement provisionally entered into force. As such, most of the agreement now applies. The agreement will enter into force fully and definitely when all EU MS parliaments have ratified the agreement. Several countries have began the ratification process.

The outcome is a satisfactory one from Ireland’s perspective - although increased access to the EU market was granted for Canadian beef, greater access to the Canadian market for EU beef and dairy products (notably cheese) was secured.

� EU MERCOSUR Several rounds of negotiations took place between the EU and Mercosur bloc during 2018 with the last round of negotiations taking place in Montevideo in December.

However the negotiations did not progress sufficiently to the point where any agreement was likely to be concluded. Apart from the well-known sensitivities in relation to Mercosur such as beef access to the EU market, other outstanding issues included cars, rules of origin, geographical indications, maritime services and EU dairy access to the Mercosur market. During 2018 Ireland continued to make strong interventions at various fora, including through Minister Creed’s direct contacts with Commissioners Hogan and Malmström, and at the Council of Agriculture Ministers, warning against the potential impact of concessions on the Irish and European beef sector in particular.

� EU-Singapore On 16 May 2017, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the Singapore agreement could not be ratified at EU level without the approval of all Member States. It added that any trade deal thatincludes an out-of-court dispute settlement system would require ratification by the EU's 38 national or regional parliaments.

Following the ECJ ruling, the result of negotiations with Singapore was adjusted to create two standalone agreements: a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA).

The draft trade and investment agreements were signed on 19 October 2018. It is scheduled to receive consent of the European Parliament on 13 February 2019.

� EU-Vietnam The Commission published the preliminary text of the Agreement covering the full dismantling of 99%-plus of tariffs over 7 years for EU and 10 years for Vietnam.

The Council is reviewing the agreements in view of their future signature, following which the Council will request the European Parliament for its consent. The investment protection agreement withVietnam will follow its ratification procedure also at Member State level.

� EU – Japan The EU-Japan negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement were finalised on 8 December 2017. The EU and Japan signed both agreements at a

55


summit on 11 July 2018 in Brussels with the agreement coming into force on 1 February 2019. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) represents a major boost for the EU agri-food sector, with considerable additional market access provided for in relation to beef, pigmeat and dairy (cheese) products. As such, it presents a significant opportunity to grow Irish beef exports in particular.Over 200 Geographical Indications (GIs) are protected under the deal with major gains for wine, spirits, cheese, beef and pork exporters.

� EU - China The aim of the proposed EU-China Investment agreement is to remove market access barriers to investment and provide a high level of protection toinvestors and investments in EU and Chinese markets. It will replace the 26 existing Bilateral Investment Treaties between China and individual EU Member States with one single comprehensive investment agreement. During 2016 the EU and China negotiators reached clear conclusions on an ambitious and comprehensive scope for the EU-China investment agreement and established a joint negotiating text. Three rounds of negotiations took take place during 2018 with the last round taking place in Beijing 29-30 October 2018.

� EU-Indonesia The last round of negotiations for an FTA with Indonesia took place 15-19 October 2018 in Indonesia with the next round scheduled for March 2019.

� EU-Mexico In April 2018, the EU and Mexico reached an ‘agreement in principle’ on the trade part of a modernised EU-Mexico Global Agreement. The textsare currently undergoing legal review.

From an EU perspective, significant market access improvements were agreed for core exports of cheese and dairy products to Mexico. There will be a considerable improvement of market access conditions for EU's exports for pork and poultry.

� EU-Australia/New Zealand The development of Free Trade Agreements between the EU and Australia / New Zealand is at anearly stage. In June 2016, the Commission completed an external study and public consultation. On 22 May 2018, the Council adopted

the decision authorising the opening of negotiations for a trade agreement with Australia. On 18 June 2018, EU and Australia formally launched negotiations with the first formal round oftalks taking place in Brussels from 2 to 6 July.

Two rounds of negotiations have taken place with Australia and three rounds with New Zealand, with the most recent rounds taking place in Australia on 19 November 2018 and in New Zealand on 18 October 2018. While both negotiations are at an early stage, the rounds have proceeded well and in a high degree of coherence. Objective is to conclude by end of 2019.

TRADE MISSIONS

Trade Missions play an important role to develop apresence in as many global markets as possible. During2018, Minister Creed led very successful missions to theUS, Canada, China, Indonesia and Malaysia. MinisterDoyle visited China in November 2018. These missionsincluded participants from across the agri-food sectorand featured extensive trade contacts as well as high-level political discussions. All of these markets havebeen identified as offering huge potential to the Irishagri-food sector.

Inward trade visits In addition to outward trade missions, the Departmenthosted high level visiting delegations from a wide rangeof countries in 2018, including China, Japan, SouthKorea, US, Australia, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Mexico,Singapore, Libya, Iran, Turkey, Philippines, Egypt,Kuwait, Uganda and Brazil.

United Nations Forum on Forests

In 2018, the Department continued to participate atinternational level through the United Nations Forumon Forests (UNFF). Among the core themes ofimportance considered at the the 13th session of UNFF,were issues relating to global implementation ofsustainable forest management, halting deforestationand forest degradation. Monitoring, assessment andreporting, means of implementation and progresstowards achieving forest related sustainabledevelopment goals under Agenda 2030 and under theUN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-2030. From aforestry perspective, the most prominent of these isSDG 15 (Life on Land) which includes an ambitioustarget to halt global deforestation by 2020.

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Ministerial Conference on the Protection ofForests in Europe (Forest Europe)

The Department continued to participate at ForestEurope which is the platform for pan-European forestpolicy development and implementation. Worktowards re-engagement by Forest Europe members onnegotiation of a Forest Europe Legally BindingInstrument on Forests in Europe continued in 2018.

UN - Food and Agriculture OrganisationCommittee on Forestry (FAO COFO)

In 2018, the Department participated at internationallevel through the United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganisation Committee on Forestry. Among the corethemes of importance considered at COFO were issuesrelating to the 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment, supporting implementation of the UNStrategic Plan for Forests, urban and peri-urbanforestry, mainstreaming biodiversity, and impacts ofclimate change on the activities of FAO.

European Forest Institute (EFI)

The Department is a member of the EFI, whichconducts research and provides policy support onissues related to forests. Ireland is an active memberand supporter of a number of EFI initiatives. Theseinclude EFI's Plant Forest Facility, Multi-Donor TrustFund for policy support and the EU REDD Facility whichis hosted by EFI. EFI publications and reports areavailable at www.efi.int

Climate Change

Ireland through the Department of Agriculture, Foodand the Marine is actively engaged with the UNFCCC’sSubsidiary Bodies which are tasked with jointlyconsidering issues related to agriculture.

Following the decision at the 2017 Conference ofParties (COP 23), known at the Koronivia Joint Work onAgriculture, which recognised the role of agriculture intackling climate change and achieving the ambitions ofthe Paris Climate Agreement the scheduling of thiswork was agreed and the first discussions on contenttook place in 2018.

Ireland also collaborated with New Zealand in a sideevent series called Act!on Agriculture which took placeduring the Katowice Climate Change Conference from10-12 December 2018. This event explored howgovernments, agriculture businesses and others arepushing the frontier of agricultural transformationtowards low emissions. Using real-world examplesfrom developed and developing countries, the eventhighlighted specific opportunities, proven bestpractices and realistic possibilities for increasingagricultural productivity, mitigating agriculturalgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and strengtheningagricultural resilience in cost-effective ways.

Ireland also supported the IPCC’s development of aSpecial Report on Climate Change, Food andAgriculture as part of the IPCC 6th assessment cyclethrough hosting one of their ‘Lead Author’ coordinationworkshops in Q3 2018. This special report is one ofthree produced by the IPCC as part of their 6assessment cycle; the others being 1.5 degree reportpublished in 2018 and also a special report on Oceansexpected to be completed on a similar timeline to Landin 2019.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD)

The OECD Committee for Agriculture provides aninternational forum for senior policy officials, includingIreland represented by the Department, to shareexperiences and improve mutual understanding ofagriculture, trade and agri-environmental policies, andto enhance policy performance and effectiveness atboth the domestic and the international levels. TheCommittee produces two annual flagship publications:the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook and the AgriculturalPolicy Monitoring and Evaluation report. As well asattendance at the main Committee, the Departmentalso participates in a range of related workingcommittees.

OECD Agriculture and Fisheries Home page:http://www.oecd.org/agriculture/

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook: http://www.agri-outlook.org/

OECD Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation:http://www.oecd.org/tad/agricultural-policies/monitoring-and-evaluation.htm

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http://www.oecd.org/agriculture/

http://www.agri-outlook.org/

http://www.oecd.org/trade/about/

Food Security

International Development

The Department has responsibility for some of theelements of Ireland’s international developmentprogramme and works closely with Irish Aid in theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade in this regard.

UN - World Food Programme (WFP)

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the UnitedNations organisation responsible for the delivery offood assistance to the poorest and most vulnerablepeople in the world. During 2018, the Departmentcontinued its support for the vital work of the UnitedNations WFP by signing a Strategic PartnershipAgreement for 2019-2021 committing Ireland tocontributing €70 million in funding over the duration ofthe agreement. An advance of €19 million on the 2019contribution of €22 million was made in 2018. Thisadvance contribution gives WFP the flexibility to planand target its funding in the most strategic, efficientand effective manner.

Africa Agri-Food Development Programme(AADP)

The AADP is a joint initiative with the Department ofForeign Affairs and Trade. Its objective is to developpartnerships between the Irish Agri-Food Sector andAfrican countries to support sustainable growth of thelocal food industry, build markets for local produce andsupport mutual trade between Ireland and Africa.During 2018, the programme continued its work

funding five Irish companies to the value of c. €842,000,and also held another funding round in which two IrishAgri-food companies were successful. The chosenprojects have the potential to create opportunities forIrish business and African farmers in areas such asincreasing the quality and volume of co-operativelyharvested and roasted coffee beans in Ethiopia and theconversion of waste mango husk to animal feedstuff inKenya.

UN- Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO)

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UnitedNations is mandated to help eliminate hunger, foodinsecurity and malnutrition, make agriculture, forestryand fisheries more productive and sustainable, enableinclusive and efficient agricultural and food systemsand increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats andcrises. The Department leads on the Irish Government’srelationship with the FAO and ensured that Ireland’sposition on agricultural and development matters waswell represented at various FAO meetings throughoutthe year. In addition to paying Ireland’s 2018subscription of €1.37 million to FAO, further extrabudgetary funding of €2.89 million was provided to theFAO in areas where FAO has a particular competenceand which the Department considers to be of strategicimportance

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National Policy Framework

Food Wise 2025

Foodwise sets out a ten year plan for the agri-foodsector and is part of a series of rolling ten yearstrategies. It underlines the sector’s unique and specialposition within the Irish economy, and illustrates thepotential which exists for the sector to grow evenfurther. Food Wise recognises the significant growthwhich has occurred in the sector over the last few yearsand the future global opportunities from which Irelandis well placed to ensure a world class agri-foodindustry, all facilitated by support from Governmentand its agencies.(www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodwise2025/)

Food Wise identifies ambitious and challengingprojections for the industry over the next ten yearsincluding an 85% increase in exports to €19 billion; andthe creation of 23,000 additional jobs all along thesupply chain, from producer level to high end valueadded product development.

Food Wise 2025 includes more than 400 detailedrecommendations across the cross-cutting themes ofenvironmental sustainability, market development,competitiveness, innovation and human capital; aswell as specific recommendations for key sectors.(www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodwise2025/)

Implementation process

The implementation process for Food Wise is driven bythe “High Level Implementation Committee” (HLIC)and chaired by the Minister for Agriculture, Food andthe Marine, with participation from other relevantGovernment Departments and State agencies. TheHLIC met seven times in 2018

The Environmental Sustainability Committeeestablished to monitor and drive the implementationof the sustainability actions continued to meet during2018. The committee hosted an EnvironmentalSustainability Dialogue in June 2018. It covered keyenvironmental challenges facing the agricultural sectoras well as identifying and discussing potentialopportunities for abatement while maintaining thesustainability credentials of Irish agri-food production.

Steps to Success 2018

The third annual progress report of Food Wise 2025,entitled “Steps to Success 2018” was launched in July2018. The report highlights the progress achieved inyear three in the implementation of the detailed FoodWise 2025 strategy. Of the 375 actions which were dueto commence by 2018 or are ongoing actions, 74%have been achieved or substantial action has beenundertaken; and a further 26% have commenced andare progressing well. (https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/foodwise2025/foodwise2025-stepstosuccess2018/)

Food Wise 2025 Year 3 Total No. of Actions 375

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26%Commenced

and Processing

74% Achieved andSubstancial ActionUndertaken


Steps to Success 2018 outlines what the Departmentand its agencies have achieved in year three and theplans for year four. Among the highlights for year threeare:

� Secured the opening of the Chinese market to beef exports from Ireland, representing a very significant market opportunity for Irish beef companies.

� A new online international market access tool was developed. This portal provides information acrosssome of the major export sectors of dairy, meat, seafood and live animals. www.marketaccess.agriculture.gov.ie

� The €300 million “Brexit Loan Scheme” providing working capital support to enable Irish businesses to implement the necessary changes to address the challenges posed by Brexit.

� The People in Dairy Action Plan was published.� The establishment of a ‘high level innovation team’

to review current agri-food sector innovation capacity and to better market that innovation capability.

Rural Innovation and Development Fund(CEDRA)

A range of projects under the Rural Innovation andDevelopment Fund (RIDF) linked to therecommendations of CEDRA (Commission for theEconomic Development of Rural Areas) were funded bythe Department over 2018. An available fund of €1.5million was used to support the following areas:

Rural Female Entrepreneurs: Funding has helpeddevelop the ACORNS training programme which is nowin its fourth year. The programme is aimed at providingearly stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Irelandwith the knowledge, support and networkingopportunities to develop and grow sustainablebusinesses, increase employment and to make a realcontribution to their local communities. The ‘ACORNS’programme has provided peer support and learning for50 plus women with start-up businesses in rural areaseach year.

Social Farming: A number of projects have beenfunded in this area to enable the design, developmentand implementation of a national social farmingnetwork and a number of model social farms acrossIreland. The intention is to encourage and generatenational benefits for disadvantaged groups and tosupport farm diversification in the rural community.Social farming involves offering, on a voluntary basis,farming and horticultural participation in a farmingenvironment as a choice to people who avail of a rangeof therapeutic day support services. These operationsare run in a number of settings ranging from workingfamily farms, local community initiatives through tomore institutional frameworks.

Agri-Food Tourism: This area, linked to actions in FoodWise 2025, has provided funds to support both thedevelopment and expansion of agri-food tourism inrural areas. Agri-food tourism broadly is the practice ofoffering an activity or activities in rural areas to visitareas of well-known agricultural produce and to sampleand taste the local or regional cuisine or specialties.Agri-food tourism includes a wide variety of activitiesthat involve the links between agriculture and the foodproduced at the local or regional level. It may involvestaying on farms or touring food trails and events,participation in agricultural endeavours or buyingproduce direct from a farm or market. Agri-food tourismalso encompasses local food, farmer and artisan marketschemes that support and are paired with local andseasonal food producers and artisan crafts.

Food Waste Reduction: Ireland generates over 1million tonnes of food waste each year. Of this, over300,000 tonnes come from commercial businesses andover 400,000 tonnes is generated by the industrial foodproducing sector. Funding has been provided to anumber of projects to identify, target and address whatis a rapidly growing issue in Ireland and globally.

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Rural Innovation and Development Fund (CEDRA)2018 Total Expenditure: €1.5 million

Action Plan for Jobs 2018

The Department and its agencies contributed to theGovernment’s 2018 Action Plan for Jobs. The specificagri-food and marine actions in the Plan aligned withthe Food Wise strategy for the sustainable growth ofthe agri-food sector. Highlights include (i) providingspecific support and advice to food and drinkscompanies diversifing their markets, (ii) providingfinance to businesses, such as, the Brexit Loan Schemeand (iii) supporting new business ventures throughretailer initatives and knowledge transfer. The agri-food sector makes a significant contributionto employment, accounting for 7.7% of totalemployment or 173,000 jobs, in rural and coastal areas.

Access to Finance

Food Wise 2025 identifies competiveness as a keytheme and recommends that stakeholders work to“Improve access to finance for agriculture, forestry andseafood producers and agri-food companies”. TheDepartment, in cooperation with other State bodies,continues to explore additional funding mechanismsand support for farmers and SMEs in the agri-foodsector.

Brexit Loan SchemeThe €300 million Brexit Loan Scheme was designed, incooperation with Department of Business, Enterprise,and Innovation (DBEI) and the Strategic BankingCorporation of Ireland (SBCI), to provide fundingsupport to enable eligible Irish businesses (i.e. SMEs orsmall mid-caps) to implement necessary changes toaddress the challenges posed by Brexit. Minister Creed,in partnership with his colleagues the Minister forBusiness, Enterprise and Innovation, HeatherHumphreys TD and Minister for Finance and PublicExpenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe TD openedthe Brexit Loan Scheme for applications on 28 March,2018 and it will remain open until 31 March 2020.

It provides for loans of €25,000 to €1,500,000 pereligible enterprise at a maximum interest rate of 4%,ranging from 1 year to 3 years, with unsecured loans upto €500,000. The loans can be used for future workingcapital requirements or to fund innovation, change oradaptation of the business to mitigate the impact ofBrexit.

Using a combination of Irish exchequer and EUguarantees (through the EIB Group and the InnovFinloan guarantee scheme), the scheme leverages up to€300 million of lending to Irish Enterprises at a cost tothe Exchequer of €23 million (€14 million provided byDepartment of Business, Enterprise and Innovationand €9 million provided by Department of Agriculture,Food and the Marine). Funding ensures that at least40% of the €300 million will be available to foodbusinesses. Due to various fund conditions and stateaid considerations, primary agriculture was noteligible.

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FemaleEntrepreneurs€244,585

Social Farming€712,515

Other Payments

€20,917

Food Waste€216,847

Agri-FoodTourism

€306,290


Future Growth Loan SchemeThe Future Growth Loan Scheme has been developedby this Department and the Department of Enterprise,Business and Innovation in co-operation with the SBCIand the European Investment Fund (EIF). It will bedelivered through participating finance providers andmake up to €300 million of investment loans availableto eligible Irish businesses, including farmers and theagri-food and seafood sectors. The loans will becompetitively priced and will be for terms of 8-10 yearsand will support strategic long-term investment in apost-Brexit environment.

This is a long-awaited source of finance for young andnew entrant farmers, especially the cohort who do nothave high levels of security. It will also serve smaller-scale farmers, who often do not have the leverage tonegotiate for more favourable terms with their bankinginstitution.

Food companies have identified long-term investmentfinance of up to ten years as a critical need which iscurrently unavailable in Ireland. The delivery of thisproduct and its effects will be felt all along the foodproduction chain.

The fund is leveraged by exchequer funding of €62million, of which 40% or some €25 million has beenprovided by this Department, resulting in an overallagri-food package of €120 million. However, unlikeprevious Schemes, this can be reviewed and adjustedaccording to demand. Further information on access tofinance initiatives is available at: https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/agri-foodindustry/agri-foodandtheeconomy/agri-foodbusiness/accesstofinance/

Agri-taxation

Budget 2019 included the publication by the Ministerfor Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform,Paschal Donohoe TD, of the “Progress ImplementationUpdate of the Agri-taxation Review 2014”. This showsthe excellent progress made between this Departmentand the Department of Public Expenditure and Reformover recent Budgets with the almost completeimplementation of the 25 recommendations, which has

resulted in positive changes for Irish agriculture,especially in the areas of land mobility and succession.The Review shows that taxation support to the sectoraveraged €930 million per annum in the years 2012 to2016, or an average of €240 million per annum inspecific agri-taxation measures1.

Budget 2019 also included the following taxationmeasures:

� One of this Department’s highest priorities has been to develop an effective response to income volatility. Income Averaging is a useful tool in successfully managing volatility and it is now available to more farmers with the lifting of the restriction whereby farmers with additional self-employed income2 could not participate.

� Very important stock reliefs for the sector were renewed for a further three years:

� 25% General Stock Relief on Income Tax � 100% Stock Relief on Income Tax for Certain

Young Trained Farmers� 50% Stock Relief on Income Tax for Registered

Farm Partnerships.These reliefs enable investment and are especially important in supporting young farmers and generational renewal.

� One of the main agri-taxation policy objectives is to enable the transfer of family farms and the renewal of “Stamp Duty Exemption on Transfers of Land to Young Trained Farmers” is an integral part of that support, again important in supporting young farmers and generational renewal, a key policy issue for agriculture.

� The increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit by €200 to €1,350 represents a continuation of measures to promote and support entrepreneurship and increased supports for the self-employed. Most farmers, foresters, fishermen and small food processors are self-employed and will see their tax liability fall with the increase in the tax credit.

� A decision to maintain the VAT flat rate addition for unregistered farmers at 5.4%.

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1Not including Capital Allowances on Farm Buildings and Other Works, which averaged an additional €181million per annum over the period 2012 to 2016.2 For either themselves or their spouses.


More information on agri-taxation, including a list ofmeasures and the ‘Agri-taxation Review’, is available at:https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/agri-foodindustry/agri-foodandtheeconomy/agri-foodbusiness/agri-taxation/

Legislation

In 2018, the Department made some 43 StatutoryInstruments to underpin the Department’s activities inalmost all sectors within its remit. Details are availableat www.agriculture.gov.ie/legislation/

Some of the more significant S.I.s made in 2018include:

� The Aquaculture (Licence Application) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 240 of 2018) which transposed into Irish law, for the purpose of aquaculture, Directive EU 2014/52. This S.I. updated the legislation on aquaculture licencing and provided that where an environmental impact assessment was likely, a screening and scoping arrangement provided guidance to the applicant and greater ease of access to information was provided to the general public.

� The Forestry Appeals Committee Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 68 of 2018) which sets down the rules governing the functions and operation of the Forestry Appeals Committee. It facilitates the expansion of the scope of the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 (No. 29 of 2001) to include appeals relatingto forestry licences. It also regulates the appointment of the Committee’s members.

� The European Union (Organic Farming) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 331 of 2018) which provided for, amongst other things, thestrengthening of compliance provisions in the area of organics.

Statistical and Analytical Reports

� ‘Woodflow and forest-based biomass energy use on the island of Ireland (2017)’.This COFORD Connects Note provides the 2017 woodflows for the Republic of Ireland and for the island of Ireland, together with an analysis of the use of forest-based biomass for energy production.

It is based on national wood harvest and forest product trade data, compiled on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

http://www.coford.ie/media/coford/content/publications/projectreports/cofordconnects/WoodflowForestBasedBiomassEnergyUseIslandIreland141218.pdf

� Forest Statistics - Ireland 2018The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has the responsibility for the collection and publication of forest statistics. The 2018 publicationprovides statistics about afforestation trends, nationally and on a county by county basis up until the end of 2017. It tracks forest road building, thinning and clearfelling activity as well as a range of other forest management operations. Trends in Roundwood prices also feature in the document as does information in relation to forest fire and pestdamage.

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/forestry/forestservicegeneralinformation/ForestStatisticsIreland2017090318.pdf

� Annual Review and Outlook for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 2018 This contains a broad range of analysis and commentary relating to the performance of the agri-food sector.

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/publications/2018/AnnualReviewandOutlook2018310818.pdf

� Fact Sheet on Irish Agriculture. This regular analysis was reviewed, up-dated and disseminated widely in 2018. https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/publications/2018/

� Brexit Fact Sheet

� This regular analysis was produced, up-dated and disseminated during 2018.

� https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/publications/2018/

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https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/agri-foodindustry/

http://www.coford.ie/media/coford/content/publications/projectreports/cofordconnects/WoodflowForestBasedBiomassEnergyUseIslandIreland141218.pdf

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/forestry/forestservicegeneralinformation/ForestStatisticsIreland2017090318.pdf

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/publications/2018/AnnualReviewandOutlook2018310818.pdf

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/publications/2018/

https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/publications/2018/


Aggregate Farm Income

Overview of 2018 Agricultural Output

Output, Input & Income in Agriculture, 2017/2018

2017 2018 % Change Value €m Value €m (Value)

2017/2018

Goods Output at Producer Prices 8,056.3 7,977.7 -1.0%

Agricultural Output at Basic Prices 8,443.7 8,368.8 -0.9%

Intermediate Consumption 5,252.7 5,759.8 +9.7%

Gross Value Added at Basic Prices 3,191.1 2,609.0 -18.2%

Fixed Capital Consumption 837.9 837.9

Net Value Added at Basic Prices 2,353.2 1,771.1 -24.7%

Other Subsidies Less Taxes on Production 1,625.7 1,665.9 +2.5%

Factor Income 3,978.8 3,437.0 -13.6%

Compensation of Employees 521.9 535.5 +2.6%

Operating Surplus 3,456.9 2,901.5 -16.1%

Source: CSO - Output, Input & Income in Agriculture Preliminary Estimates 2018

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According to the CSO Preliminary Estimate of Output, Input and Income in Agriculture, 2018, aggregatefarm income (operating surplus) decreased by 16.1% to €2,901.5 million in 2018. This follows an increaseof 30.9% in 2017. The overall value of goods output by the sector decreased by 1.0%, or €78.6 million, to€7,977.7 million. Intermediate consumption increased by 9.7%, to €5,759.8 million.

Research and Innovation

Competitive Research FundingProgrammes

Total Committed €149.6m - National, Transnational, Cofunding 2012-2018

The Department operates three competitive researchfunding programmes. The Food Institutional ResearchMeasure (FIRM), Research Stimulus Fund (RSF) and theProgramme of Competitive Forest Research forDevelopment (CoFoRD). Grant awards are madeperiodically for ‘public good’ research projectsundertaken by researchers in eligible Irish ResearchPerforming Organisations following Calls for Proposals.These are launched nationally by this Department andothers or trans-nationally principally under EuropeanResearch Area Networks (EraNets) and the US-IrelandR&D Partnership Programme. Over the last sevenyears, almost €150 million has been committed to agri-food, marine and forest research through theseprogrammes.

Investment under Competitive ResearchFunding programmes in 2018

The overall total new funding committed across allprogrammes and award mechanisms in 2018 was €27.8million.

Awards made on foot of Research Call

In 2018, Irish Research Performing Organisationsincluding Teagasc, Universities and Institutes ofTechnology benefited from awards of over €19.5million for 28 projects covering a range of topic areas.In addition to generating evidence for policy andtechnologies to improve agri-food practices, thisinvestment will provide direct employment for 71contract researchers and education opportunities for 62post graduate students in the form of PhDs (51) andMasters Degrees (11).

Awards made jointly with other nationalresearch funders.

In 2018, the Department entered into cofoundingarrangements with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI),the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), theIrish Research Council and the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA). The Department committed€5 million to VistaMilk, a cofund with SFI, which willresult in the largest Agri-Tech Centre covering theentire dairy production chain. Two projects dealingwith Agri Bio Circular Economy (ABC Economy) andEnhancing and Assessing the Impact of Novel CircularEconomy Sectors in the bioeconomy were alsocofounded with SEAI for €207,000. In addition, theDepartment also committed €350,000 to two projectsunder the EPA’s 2018 Water Call and Climate Call.

Investment in research throughTransnational Initiatives

In 2018, the Department continued to use fundingunder its competitive research programmes to enableIrish researchers to participate in collaborativetransnational partnerships through selected EuropeanResearch Area Networks (ERA-Nets). These ERA-NETinitiatives, will result in enhanced cooperation andbetter alignment of national research priorities, andhave the scale and scope necessary to maximise theimpact of research activities across Europe.

Notable commitments under these initiatives in 2018include: � €350,000 committed to Irish researchers across four

research projects (potatoMETAbiome, WheatSustain, ProFaba and DIFFUGAT) under the EU co-founded ERA-NET SusCrop.

� €350,000 committed to facilitate Irish researchers who are EU partners in the project Infuturewood “Innovative Design for the Future – Use and Reuse of Wood (Building) Components” under the EU co-founded ERA-NET ForestValue.

The US-Ireland R&D Partnership is a tri-jurisdictionalalliance between Ireland, Northern Ireland and theUnited States whose aim is to promote collaborativeinnovative research projects which create value aboveand beyond individual efforts. The agriculturalcomponent of this is facilitated by the USDA’s NationalInstitute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA). In 2018, the

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35

30

25

20

15

10

5

02012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Research and Innovation

Department contributed over €975,000 to successfulROI partners in three animal health projects stemmingfrom NIFA’s 2017 Call whilst also agreeing to expand thepilot initiative, moving from three to seven agriculturalthematic areas for the 2018 Call.

The percentage of expenditure by Sector.

The percentage of funding committed in 2018 byfunding mechanism

The Department continues to monitor and evaluate theprogress of projects which have received researchgrant awards under FIRM, RSF and CoFoRD. In 2018 theDepartment introduced a new software system thatwill be used to manage research project grants onlinefrom the initial application through to their eventualcompletion.

Horizon 2020

Horizon 2020 (2014-20) is the EU FrameworkProgramme for Research and Innovation. TheDepartment and the Marine Institute (MI) areresponsible for Societal Challenge 2 (SC-2) fundingprogramme of Horizon 2020 which has a fund of €3.8billion - including €850 million allocated to the Bio-based Industries (BBI) Joint Undertaking. The Department and MI provide National Delegates

(ND) and National Contact Points (NCP) for SC-2 whichcovers Agri-food, Forestry and Marine activities, RuralDevelopment and the Bioeconomy and also provides arepresentative to the BBI States Representative Group.The Government has set a national drawdown target of€1.25 billion for Horizon 2020 including the drawdowntarget of €77 million (2%) from the SC2 budget. TheIrish drawdown from the BBI & SC-2 fundingprogrammes for 2018 was €15 million bringing the totalto date to €70.38 million which represents 1.85% of theoverall budget.

Bioeconomy Implementation Group

A high-level Implementation Group, jointly chaired bythe Department and the Department ofCommunications, Climate Action and Environment andconsisting of nine Departments and eight Agencies,held four meetings in 2018.

Policy Statement actions addressed to date includeproviding input into a range of national policy andfunding instrument developments to exploit synergiesand provide funding opportunities for nationalbioeconomy development. Additionally, theImplementation Group coordinated an Information Dayin UCC in May 2018 with partners Marine Institute,InterTrade Ireland and Department of Environment,Agriculture, Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland to highlightfunding opportunities available under the EU BiobasedIndustries Joint Undertaking initiative. TheImplementation Group also coordinated the inauguralBioeconomy Ireland Day information & networkingevent in Lisheen, Co. Tipperary in October 2018.

Codex Alimentarius

Ireland’s active participation in Codex Alimentariuscontinued in 2018. The Department continues tocoordinate and chair the Irish Codex AdvisoryCommittee (ICAC), which met twice in 2018 andafforded the main stakeholders in Ireland anopportunity to contribute to the formulation of theIrish position on all Codex issues. Officials from theDepartment, other Government Departments and StateAgencies represented Ireland at eight sessions ofdifferent Codex Committees in 2018 and related EUCouncil Working Party meetings reflecting the mix ofexpertise required to deal with the complex range ofissues under discussion.

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2018 - %NationalTransnationaland CofundsAwardsProgramme

Forestry 6%

Food 44%

TransNational 9%

Cofunds21%

Agriculture50%

Nationals70%

Food and Drink Sector

Overview

The agri-food sector continued to play a vital role inIreland’s economy in 2018 with agri-food exportsaccounting for 10% of total exports to reach €13.7billion marking growth of over 73% since 2009. The UKremained Ireland’s largest agri-food export destination,with exports of €5.5 billion in 2018 or 40.6% of totalexports (a 2.7% increase on 2017). Exports to the EU(excluding the UK) were worth €4.4 billion whileexports to the Rest of the World were worth €3.7 billionin 2018. The top three export categories in 2018 wereDairy Produce at €4.6 billion, Beef at €2.4 billion andBeverages at €1.4 billion accounting for €8.4 billion or62% of total worldwide agri-food exports. The agri-foodsector also makes a significant contribution toemployment, 7.7% of total employment or 172,800jobs, mostly in rural areas.

Spirit Drinks

The drinks industry is a major driver of economicactivity across the economy of Ireland at a macro andrural level, with 2018 exports valued at €1.43 billion.Alcohol beverage exports in 2018 were valued at €1.35billion. All categories including Irish cream liqueur, gin,beer and cider exports showed increases in exports

with Irish Whiskey performing exceptionally. Thedistilling industry has grown from 3 distilleries in 2014,to 23 at present and a further 24 being proposed.Volume growth in the sector is largely driven bycontinued double-digit demand for Irish Whiskey inmany markets and a sustained change in fortunes forthe Irish Cream liqueur category. Significant exportgrowth is anticipated over the mid term, with theindustry having the potential to grow exports by atleast 85% to over €2 billion, creating and sustainingadditional jobs, predominantly in rural Ireland.

In 2018, Irish Whiskey exports continued to grow andreached €647 million for the first time and broughtcumulative growth of the category to over 134% in thesix years since 2012. The most important market wasthe United States showing a 13.5% volume growth in2018 and accounting for 43% of all whiskey exports .

Together with Irish Cream exports, which were valuedat €342 million, this represented a major contributionby Irish spirit drinks to the export performance ofIreland’s food and drinks industry. Once again, theUnited States was the most important marketaccounting for 49% of all Irish Cream exports.

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Irish Whiskey 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Total Exports €m 276,032 316,916 348,067 442,427 503,764 576,189 647,523

Exported to 122,129 147,161 165,397 233,343 291,049 340,866 382,693United States €m

Irish Cream 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Total Exports €m 406,637 336,026 287,250 311,064 292,858 326,688 342,561

Exported to 147,963 139,009 131,291 163,220 144,791 166,105 168,519United States €m


Geographical Indications: Protected Spirits

Regulation 110/2008 sets out definitions of thecategories of spirit drinks (alcoholic drinks with aminimum alcohol content of 15%), including rum,whiskey, gin, vodka and liqueurs, and recognises andprotects a list of spirit drink geographical indications(GIs) including the three Irish GIs - Irish Whiskey, IrishCream and Irish Poitin.

Verification checks for Irish Cream are carried out bythe Department and those for Irish Poitín and IrishWhiskey by the Revenue Commissioners. The threespirit drinks are protected on an all-island basis.

Applications for verification are required for premisesinvolved in the brewing, fermentation, distillation,maturation, bottling and labelling of these spirit drinks.Under Regulation 110/2008 a charge is required forthese visits.

In 2018, the Department received applications from sixpremises involved in Irish Cream production while theRevenue Commissioners carried out verification checkson forty four Irish Whiskey premises. In addition theyalso carried out verification checks on nine Irish Poitínpremises.

Geographical Indication Schemes for Food(GIs)

Within the EU the PDO (Protected Designation ofOrigin), PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) andTSG (Traditional Specialities Guaranteed) schemesoffer potential to recognise quality foods that arelinked to a geographical region. During 2018, theDepartment worked with a number of proposers todevelop applications, and to progress existingexpressions of interest. Ireland currently has 7registered food GIs - Oriel Sea Salt (PDO) and Oriel SeaMinerals (PDO), Blaa/Waterford Blaa (PGI), ConnemaraHill Lamb (PGI) Clare Island Salmon (PGI), ImokillyRegato (PDO), and Timoleague Brown Pudding (PGI).The Comeragh Mountain Lamb, Sneem Black Puddingand Wexford Blackcurrant applications are awaitingPGI registration on the successful completion of theEuropean Consultation.

Labelling

EU Regulations on wines, spirit drinks, aromatisedwines, fruit juice, coffee, chocolate, jams, jellies andmarmalades set out product-specific labelling rules toensure authenticity and to protect both consumers andproducers. During 2018, the Department carried outchecks at retail level to ensure that product labels werein conformity with these Regulations and with generallabeling requirements as prescribed by theRegulations. In recent years an increase in theoccurrence of internet fraud against EU registered PDOand PGI products in the Food and Drink sector hasbeen identified. The Department is continuing toproactively examine potential online evocation andmisinformation on websites and social media, and hasalso coordinated multi-agency responses to requestsand queries from other Member States.

Unfair Trading Practices Directive

On 16 April 2018, Commissioner Hogan presented aproposal for a Directive on Unfair Trading Practices(UTPs) in business-to-business relationships in thefood supply chain. The aim of the Directive is toprotect the weakest link in the food chain (farmers andSmall Medium Enterprises) from a limited list of unfairpractices, such as, late payments over 30 days forperishable food products, last minute ordercancellations, unilateral and retroactive changes tocontracts, and obligations on supplier to pay forwasted products.

There is a period of 24 months (2 years) for thetransposition of the Directive following the date ofpublication in the Official Journal (OJ) of the EU. It isanticipated that the Directive will be agreed in early2019. This Department and the Department ofBusiness, Enterprise and Innovation will establish aworking group on the transposition of the Directive,having regard to existing national legislation andenforcement provisions and how the legislation mightbe brought forward.

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Prepared Consumer Foods Centre

The Prepared Consumer Foods (PCF) sector accountedfor €2.6 billion in agri-food sector exports in 2018 and€3.6 billion in imports. The UK accounts for 68% (2018)of PCF food and drink exports; the sector is particularlyexposed to Brexit but has great potential for growth.

To address the challenges of Brexit and thetraditionally low levels of Research & Development bycompanies in the PCF sector, Minister Creed secured abudget allocation of €5 million in 2018 to purchasecapital equipment for the establishment of a PreparedConsumer Foods (PCF) Centre in Teagasc, Ashtown toenable companies in the Sector, to trial equipmentwith a view to scaling up their own production. In 2018,the Department, working with Teagasc and with StateAgencies advanced the establishment of the PCFCentre and the purchase of PCF equipment, followingpublic procurement procedures. The PCF Centre wasformally opened ahead of schedule, on 18 October andby the end of the year ten companies were alreadyusing the facilities within the PCF centre. In October2018 an additional €5 million was secured for thecentre in 2019 to build on the work carried out in 2018and specifically to purchase sensory and nutritionalanalysis equipment and to establish incubation hubs inthe Centre.

EI Capital Investment Scheme - SME CapitalInvestment Fund

In 2018, to assist food and drink companies exposed toBrexit, the Department secured funding of €5 millionfor a capital Investment fund for the SME foodcompanies which is operated through EnterpriseIreland (EI). The initiative is open to all Small andMedium Sized enterprises with the aim of helping themto improve their productivity and competitiveness inthe face of challenges from Brexit through theacquisition of new capital equipment and technologyand through innovation. Six food companies wereapproved for support of €1.612 million underEnterprise Ireland’s Capital Investment Initiative in2018.

Artisan and Speciality Food Sector – TheLEADER Food Initiative

Under the 2014-2020 Rural Development Plan (RDP)€15 million was ring fenced for artisan food producers,specifically to support collaboration between foodproducers. The LEADER Food Initiative was jointlylaunched by Minister Creed and Minister Ring in May2018 and provides up to €15 million over the durationof the LEADER 2014 -2020 programme to support thefurther development of food and drink businessesthroughout rural Ireland. In 2018, 16 projects to thevalue of €692,201 were approved for funding.

Artisan, Local and Speciality Food

In 2018, the development of artisan, local andspeciality food was advanced through measuressupported by the Department, Bord Bia and Teagasc.The Department funded circa €30,000 in bursaries forstudents undertaking the annual Diploma in SpecialityFood Production in University College Cork. TheDiploma meets skills recommendations in FoodWise2025. It combines insights into the challenges ofcreating a small food enterprise, the skills required tomake a business successful and essential elements offood science. Students include speciality foodproducers, farmers who wish to add value to their farmproduce, small retailers who wish to expand intoorganic and other artisan food producers, restaurantsand chefs. Teagasc, Bord Bia and the FSAI providedmodules on marketing, food science and food safety.

Food Competitiveness Fund

The Department provides funding to Enterprise Irelandto assist food companies to improve competitivenessthrough:(i) lean manufacturing programmes (ii) leadership development at CEO and 2nd tier

management level (iii) training and (iv) €5,000 innovation vouchers used by companies to

commission research from universities, Teagasc and Institutes of Technology.

69


Beef and Sheep-Meat Capital InvestmentScheme

Residual payments under the Scheme, which ismanaged by Enterprise Ireland and funded by theDepartment, amounted to €670,000 in 2018. All projectsare now deemed completed and funding ceased at theend of 2018. The Scheme funded investments, whichwere selected on a competitive basis, to improveefficiency and add value to primary processing.

EU Promotion Programmes for Agricultural Products

EU regime

EU funding is available on a competitive basis to agrifood sector bodies for generic promotion of the quality,safety, nutrition or production methods of EUagricultural products. The EU Promotion Policy forAgri-Food Products regime acts as key for opening upnew markets and to diversify trading partners. With thecommon denominator - 'Enjoy, it’s from Europe' it aimsto help the sector’s professionals to break into orconsolidate international markets and to makeconsumers more aware of the efforts made byEuropean farmers.

A total of €179 million is available for promoprogrammes with EU co-financing rates ranging from70% to 85% – with Industry funding of the balancing15%/20%/30% required. An annual work programmesets out the strategic annual priorities for promotionmeasures in terms of products, schemes and markets tobe targeted that year, with the corresponding allocatedbudgets. Calls for proposals are issued in January eachyear by the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and FoodExecutive Agency (CHAFEA), who subsequently assessand select the programmes. In 2018 a Bord Biasponsored Pork & Beef programme in the Philippines,South Korea and Vietnam was among those selected forfunding to commence in January 2019.

The Department is currently running a number ofPromotional Programmes – all involving Irish agri-foodsector bodies ; “Milk Moments”; “Cheese Up Your Life”;“Mushrooms Complement Everything”; “European Lamb“Tasty Easy Fun” ; “Potatoes – “More than a bit on theside” and “European Beef and Lamb – Excellence in FoodSafety & Sustainability” .

Food Dudes Programme/School Fruit &Vegetables Scheme

The Food Dudes Programme is an evidence-basedincentivised behaviour changing programmedeveloped by the Food and Activity Research Unit,Bangor University, Wales. Under its’ horticulture remit,Bord Bia manages and oversees the implementation ofthe Food Dudes programme since it was first rolled outin Ireland in 2005. It is funded by the Department andthe EU through the EU School Scheme whichincorporates the School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme.Food Dudes aims to increase sustained fruit andvegetable consumption amongst primary schoolchildren through repeated tasting of fruit andvegetables over a 16 day intervention period with thesupport of accompanying measures in the form of rolemodels (Food Dudes Heroes) and small rewards. In the2017/18 school year, 135,670 children and 825 schoolsparticipated in the programme.

School Milk Scheme

The EU School Milk Scheme (SMS) has operated inIreland since 1982 with the objective of promoting andencouraging the consumption of milk amongst schoolchildren. The Scheme is funded by the Department andthe EU through the School Scheme. The National DairyCouncil was appointed to oversee the implementationof the School Milk Scheme in Ireland. A number ofaccompanying measures such as “National School MilkWeek” and specially designed educational lesson plansfor the children were introduced. In the 2017/18 schoolyear 591 schools and 69,514 children participated inthe Scheme.

Sustainable Beef Lamb Assurance Scheme.

Bord Bia runs the Quality Assurance Schemes for beef,lamb, dairy, pigmeat, poultry, eggs and horticulture.These quality assurance schemes provide ISOaccredited assurances to consumers across these foodcategories. Bord Bia works continuously to developbest practice standards which are reflected in the highlevel of trust placed by consumers in QA labels.

The Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme(SBLAS) (formerly the Beef Lamb Quality AssuranceScheme) incorporates a new standard which was

70


introduced in 2017 following extensive consultationwith farming organisations and which is accredited tothe International Standard for Product Certification17065 and the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB)21022. The new standard is underpinned by a numberof sustainability measures reflecting that sustainabilityhas become a major priority in the market place.

On farm audits take place every 18 months. Theseaudits include the collection of data that allows BordBia to calculate the carbon footprint for every farmindividually. The Beef/Lamb Carbon Navigator used inSBLAS focuses on 6 efficiency measures that reducesGHG emissions as follows:

� longer grazing season, � lower age at first calving, � increased calving rate, � improved growth rate, � improved nitrogen use of efficiency and improved

slurry management.

The performance of the individual SBLASmember/producer is assessed under each of these 6headings to establish the individual carbon footprintand the results are returned to the farmer withindications where improvements can be maderegarding performance.

Essentially, the SBLAS member is shown how his/herperformance relative to his/her peers and thisinformation provides the basis from which farmers canimplement better practices to reduce their carbonfootprint.

The Scheme received €6.4 million in Departmentfunding in 2018 to fund the independent farminspections and certification.

Bord Bia

Bord Bia supported Irish food and drink companieswith market insight and expertise as they sought tobuild long-term trading relations in export markets inthe UK, continental Europe and internationally, whileidentifying new and emerging markets particularly inAsia.

Origin Green

Ireland’s sustainability programme continues to bringthe Irish food and drink industry on the journey ofsustainable food production. Membership includesfarmers, food producers, retailers and food serviceoperators, all committed to measurable improvementsin environmental performance. By the end of 2018,there were 52,034 members of the Sustainable Beefand Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS while theSustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS) had some16,256 members. At industry level (manufacturing,retail and food service), over 600 companies had signedup and registered for Origin Green while 346 companiesachieved verified Origin Green membership. Thecombined output of Origin Green verified businessmembers now accounts for over 90% of all Irish foodand drink exports.

The Origin Green International Media Strategy for 2018was designed to further build awareness and deepenengagement among trade customers in European andInternational markets through umbrella Origin Greenand dairy campaign activity. The campaign focused onboth online and traditional marketing activity. OriginGreen was featured editorially in targeted trade andbroadsheet publications in key European andInternational markets with a combined circulation totalof 1.6 million. Paid digital activity generated over 21million online impressions.

The aim of the Origin Green Ambassador Programme isto raise the profile of Irish food and drink industriesamong key trade audiences internationally. This hasthe potential of delivering increased sales andproviding Irish food and drink companies with acomprehensive insight into best practice globally insustainability, particularly in target markets. Resulting,in the development of a cohort of executive talent tolead Irish food and drink industries to becomerecognised as one of the most sustainable in the world.

Origin Green Ambassadors build trade awarenessglobally of Ireland’s Origin Green programme, byengaging in dialogue with the world’s leading food anddrink accounts.

71

Primary Production

MEAT

Beef Production and Trade

Beef worth over €2.4 billion or almost 550,000 tonneswas exported in 2018, an increase in value of 1% on theprevious year. This made Ireland the 5th largest netexporter of beef in the world. In value terms over 93%of beef products was exported to countries within theEU and 7% exported to Third Country markets. In termsof volume 87% of beef products were exported tocountries within the EU and 13% exported to ThirdCountry Markets.

Irish slaughter volumes have increased over the lastthree years. Slaughter reached almost 1.8 million headin 2018 which was a 2.8% increase on 2017 figures.Prices in 2018 stayed broadly in line with previous yearsuntil the end of the year when prices came underelevated pressure. Higher input costs due to increasedfuel prices and higher feed usage due to weatherconditions further impacted margins negatively. Theaverage price for R3 Steers in 2018 was €385.2c/kg witha high price of €412.3c/kg recorded during early June.The average 2018 R3 Steer price was marginally (0.6%)above the average for the last five years.

Beef Policy Developments

Minister Creed hosted two meetings of the BeefRoundtable during 2018 with key stakeholders from theIrish beef sector. As well as receiving updates on CAPpost-2020, and the market outlook for 2019, the BeefRoundtable included discussions on the potential forproducer organisations and the development of newtechnologies as ways of adding value along the wholesupply chain.

Increased diversification of markets remained apriority, in particular in relation to beef. Ireland is asignificant net exporter of beef, and needs to grow anddevelop new markets, particularly as a hedge againstthe threats posed by Brexit, with almost 50% of Irishbeef exports going to the UK market. Access to theChinese market for Irish beef was a significantachievement in terms of market diversification. Accessto Kuwait and Qatar for Irish beef was also secured in2018.

There was continuing engagement with stakeholders in2018 in relation to the establishment of ProducerOrganisations in the beef sector.

Significant work was done in 2018 by the Minister andrelevant officials to sensitise other Member States andthe European Commission to the potentially verysevere impacts of Brexit on the Irish agri-food and inparticular the beef sector, and to the likelihood ofspecific supports being required in order to deal withthese impacts.

Funding of €20 million for the Beef EnvironmentalEfficiency Pilot was announced as part of the 2019budget. The pilot is an agri-environmental schemewhich is exchequer funded and operated under stateaid de minimis provisions. The aim of the pilot is tofurther increase economic and environmentalefficiency in the suckler herd through better qualitydata on herd performance, supporting decision makingon farm.

Sheep Production and Trade

Sheepmeat export values increased by 2% on previousyear values to reach almost €315 million, whilevolumes reduced by 4%. Slaughtering increased by 1%in 2018 to just under 3 million head. The nationalaverage price in 2018 was € 453.12/100kg, a 1.1%increase on the previous year.

Sheepmeat worth over €315 million, or almost 60,000tonnes, was exported in 2018. In value terms over 90%of Sheepmeat products was exported to countrieswithin the EU and 10% exported to Third Countrymarkets. In terms of volume almost 90% of sheepmeatproducts was exported to countries within the EU and10% exported to Third Country Markets.

Year 2 of the Sheep Welfare scheme opened inFebruary 2018. The scheme provides support of €10per ewe to farmers with breeding ewe flocks and willrun up to 2020. Advance payment under Year 2 of thescheme issued in November 2018. €15.14 million waspaid to 18,607 participants and represented anadvance payment rate of 85%. Balancing payments foryear 2 of the scheme will issue in Q2 2019.

72

Primary Production

Under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020, provision has been made for improving efficiencyand profitability in sheep production under theKnowledge Transfer measure which has a budget of€100 million. The experience in the Sheep TechnologyAdoption Programme (STAP) has informed thedevelopment of this measure. In addition toprofitability, the emphasis is on the key issues ofbusiness skills, environmental sustainability and herdhealth, with increased interaction between individualfarmers and advisors in order to customise informationexchange. The Knowledge Transfer Programme for thesheep sector was launched in 2016. Approx 3,890farmers participated in Year Two of the KnowledgeTransfer Sheep Programme which concluded end ofJuly 2018.

Sheepmeat Policy Developments

A number of new rules in relation to the identificationand movement of sheep were introduced throughchanges to the National Sheep Identification System(NSIS). Under the new rules, with effect from 1 June2019, all sheep moving from a holding must beidentified electronically. The rationale for ElectronicIdentification for sheep includes the provision of amore robust sheep traceability system that will furthersupport the development and sustainability of thesheep industry.

2018 Meat Market Access

Very significant progress was made on a wide range ofmeat market access issues in 2018 including:

� The agreement of a health certificate to accompany beef consignments to China and the approval of six beef slaughter cutting plants and two cold stores forexporting eligible beef to China which led to the commencement of export of eligible Irish beef to China in June 2018.

� The agreement of a veterinary health certificate for the export of beef, sheepmeat and poultrymeat to Qatar.

� The agreement of a veterinary health certificate for the export of beef, sheepmeat and poultrymeat to Kuwait.

� In November 2018, the Department hosted an inspection audit from SENAISCA, Mexico in connection with Ireland’s application for access for pigmeat to Mexico.

� In addition, the Department also hosted a number of study visits from authorities in international countries. These study visits aim to foster bilateral co-operation in the areas of agriculture and trade or can be part of a wider EU study visit. In 2018, the following study/discovery visits took place:� In March 2018, two Kuwaiti officials visited

Ireland to learn more about controls and food production systems.

� In September 2018, officials from the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) South Korea took part in a study visit to Ireland concentrating on traceability.

� In September 2018 the annual knowledge transfer study visit from Chinese officials took place, with the Department hosting the opening meeting.

� In November 2018, a further study visit was carried out by Korean officials from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

These incoming visits are crucial either in relation tothe maintenance of existing market access, seekingnew market access or else in terms of showcasing Irishproduction standards and developing further contactsin Ministries abroad.

In relation to the 7 Point Action Plan on intensifyingmarket access efforts that was launched in April 2017,work continued on a range of those actions including:

� The web portal with information on market access and certification conditions across meat and other products was launched in May 2018. http://www.marketaccess.agriculture.gov.ie/

73

http://www.marketaccess.agriculture.gov.ie/

Primary Production

� An intensified programme of trade missions to promote Irish food and drink abroad continued during 2018 with Ministerial trade missions to Turkey (in relation to live exports), Canada and the USA, China, Malaysia & Indonesia. A veterinary health certificate was agreed for pigmeat in Malaysia and poultry access for Indonesia was pursued. In addition, some technical meetings took place in conjunction with these trade missions to seek to progress existing market access applications and/or seek to enhance Ireland’s existing access.

� The Department continued its work to overcome barriers to trade and to improve certification conditions, in particular for meat and for live animals.

� Work commenced on the inaugural Market Access Annual Report.

Opening of Chinese Beef Market

The Chinese beef market has been on the horizon for anumber of years and the Department was delighted toannounce the opening of the Chinese market to IrishBeef on 16 April 2018. A brief outline of the timelineinvolved in securing beef market access for Irish beef isoutlined below.

In August 2017 a Certification and AccreditationAdministration of the People's Republic of China(CNCA) inspection was carried out to assess individualprocessing plants. The CNCA inspection was focused

on a sample of individual plants, selected by theChinese, which had applied for access to the Chinesemarket. In April 2018 the first three beef plants wereapproved and listed by the Chinese authorities.Subsequently, in June 2018, after successful Ministerialdiscussions as part of the Trade Mission to China inMay, a further three beef plants were approved.

Ireland became the first Western European beefexporter to secure access to export beef to China. Theopening of the Chinese beef market presents anexciting opportunity for the entire Irish beef sector,both for farmers and processors, and is in line with themarket development theme of the national Food Wise2025 strategy. The 'First mover advantage' presents amajor opportunity for Irish beef industry.

Department officials are working towards progressingapplications for additional beef plants approvals, inorder to increase Ireland's ability to supply the market.This was the subject of a bilateral technical meeting atsenior official level in Bejing at the start of November2018.

Despite increases in domestic beef production inChina, consumer demand for premium imported beefis forecast to rise significantly, driven by increasingurbanisation, higher disposable incomes and healthawareness. According to USDA forecasts China isexpected to consume over 8.5 million tonnes of beef in2018. This is more than any other country outside theUSA and almost 4% ahead of 2017 consumption levels.

74

November 2014Minister SimonCoveney leads atrade mission toChina

February 2015China lifts the BSEban, whichprohibited Irish beefimports

September 2016Minister Creedmeets AQSIQMinister ZhiShuping, as part ofthe Trade Mission toChina

August/September2017CNCA carried out aplant specific auditof nine beefestablishmnents

Fevruary 2018Senior Officialstravel to Beijing on aTechnical Missionon beef access

June 20183 more beef plantsapproved

December 2014Joint Ministry ofAgriculture & AQSIAvisit Ireland toconsider BSE ban

January 2016The Departmenthosts an AQSIQsystems audit ofregulatory systems

April 2017Minister Creedmeets AQSIQMinister ZhiShuping, sign aformal protocol inDublin

December 2017Ireland receives draftversion of CNCAReport. TheDepartment worksclosely with industryto resolve minor issues

November 2018Minister Creedannounces openingof market for Irishbeef for 3 beefestablishments

November 2018Bilateralnegotiations inBeijng at seniorofficials level

Primary Production

Overall beef exports to China amounted to over 1,400tonnes in 2018 despite the fact the market was open foronly part of the year. It is expected that as furtherplants are approved this figure will increasesignificantly.

The long-term collaborative project to successfully gainmarket access for Irish beef to China won for an awardin the 2018 Civil Service Excellence and InnovationAwards, where it won the award in the category for‘Excellence through Collaboration’. The award was forcollaboration in a very broad sense as a large numberof Divisions within the Department were involved incollaboration with colleagues in Bord Bia andDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in particularthe Embassy in Beijing, and in partnership with theChinese Embassy in Dublin and the Irish meat industry.

This strong successful model of internal, cross-Departmental and agency collaboration together with,a close working relationship with industry stakeholdersand Government can serve as a template for furthermarket access efforts.

PIGMEAT

The pigmeat export sector had a solid year in 2018,with the total value of exports growing to reach €832million; a 5% increase on 2017. This growth in exportvalues is in line with the direction and focus of the FoodHarvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025 strategies. Since2010, export values of Irish pigmeat have risen by over250%.

Trade to the United Kingdom, the single largestdestination for Irish pigmeat products, grew by 6% to€471 million, or 57% of the total value, in 2018. Growthto third country markets - which now account for 23%of total export value, was also strong, rising to €193million. China is now the single largest third countrymarket with exports of €79 million; a slight dip on2017’s figure.

75

900000

800000

700000

600000

500000

400000

300000

200000

100000

0

€000

2016 2016 2016

UK

Rest EU

3rd Countries

Irish pigmeat exports 2016-2018

Primary Production

Irish pig supplies at meat export plants rose by 3%compared to 2017 to almost 3.4 million head. Increasedcarcase weights meant that overall production rose by4.1% to reach 306,000 metric tonnes according to BordBia statistics. On the price front, 2018 was poor for thesector, with prices holding steady at a low level for thewhole year, as demand from China lost momentumand domestic and global production grew. Chineseimport demand is expected to increase in the secondhalf of 2019 due to prevalence of African Swine Fever(ASF) in Chinese herds.

Domestic demand for pork slowed in 2018, as a slumpof 5% in bacon sales cancelled out the growth in porkconsumption by 4%, sausages by 3% and cooked hamby 5%. Nonetheless, Ireland’s extremely high level ofpig meat consumption compared to peer countriesmeans the domestic retail market was worth some€670 million last year. (source: Bord Bia)

Pig Implementation Strategy Group

The Pig Implementation Strategy Group met threetimes during 2018. Chaired by Dr. Sean Brady, thegroup oversees implementation of therecommendations set out in the 2016 report of the PigIndustry Stakeholder Group. The report, whichcontains over 60 recommendations, addresses anumber of challenges for the pig sector under a widerange of themes including Bio-Security, Animal Healthand Welfare, Quality Assurance, Veterinary Medicines,and Salmonella Control.

Pig Salmonella Control Programme

Under the Pig Salmonella Control Programme,monthly samples are taken at factories for allproducers who supply more than 200 per pigs forslaughter per annum. Over the course of 2018 justunder 20,500 samples from 349 herds were taken andtested in order to provide up-to-date results for bothfarmers and processors on salmonella prevalence.

POULTRY AND EGGS

Over 800 farms are involved in commercial poultryproduction in Ireland, broken down between poultryfor meat, egg production, breeding farms andhatcheries. The industry supports around 6,000 jobs,primarily in rural areas.

Over 98.6 million birds were slaughtered in export-approved plants during 2018, 90 million of which werechickens. This represents a 3.3% increase over 2017,and in volume terms, Irish production hit record levelsin 2018, up 3% year-on-year to reach 157,000 tonnes.The average price of poultry meat on the domesticmarket held steady at €5.56/kg.

Ireland has access to 61 countries for the export ofpoultry meat; 27 EU member states, and the balanceoutside the EU, with access gained to the Kuwaiti andQatari markets last year. Overall export values increasedby 1% to €280 million in 2018. The UK accounts foralmost 78% of export volumes and value, although thisfigure shifted downwards somewhat during 2018suggesting some diversification in export markets.

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10095908580757065605550

0

Mill

ions

Hea

d

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Total Poultry Slaughter, 2016-2018

Primary Production

At just under €30 million, South Africa holds the secondlargest share of Irish poultry export value, a 10%increase from 2017.

At the end of 2018, there were a total of 255 hen egg unitsregistered with this Department and the associatednumber of hens places registered exceeded the 3.6million figure, a slight increase on the 2017 figure.

Summary Table of Hen Egg Producer Categories in2018:

Ireland exported over 18 million eggs, worth €14.5million in 2018.

The Department’s Poultry official control programmeseeks to verify compliance by Food Business Operatorswith EU food safety and authenticity law.

Official controls on egg producers and poultry meatproducers are implemented through inspections ofFood Business Operators (FBOs) in order to verify theircompliance with food safety and authenticitylegislation. Almost 1,500 inspections were undertakenon poultry meat and egg establishments in 2018 underFood Hygiene and Marketing Standards legislation. 307egg samples were sent for various analyses in 2018.

Over 200 poultry farmers participated in Year Two ofthe Knowledge Transfer Poultry Programme whichconcluded end of July 2018. Payments commenced inOctober 2018 and are ongoing.

DAIRY

In 2018, Ireland exported dairy products toapproximately 140 countries with a value exceeding€4.5 billion. CSO figures for 2018 indicate a +5% volumegrowth and -2.3% value decline compared to the sameperiod in 2017. This was a strong performance in thecontext of competitive international markets.Butter had an exceptional year in 2018 – in both the USand continental Europe – and for the first time thevalue of Irish butter exports exceeded €1 billion in theyear, a 22% increase on 2017 value.

The recovery dairy markets experienced in 2017continued in 2018. Strong global demand for dairyproducts underpinned a stable performance by theIrish dairy sector. Whilst the continuing long-termchallenges of price volatility, market turbulence andthe requirement of balancing product supply withdemand remain, the overall performance of the Irishdairy sector in 2018 was strong.

The average price paid to farmers in 2018 was 35.04c/l(yearly average including VAT and bonuses paid). Thiswas down 3.7% from an average of 36.42 on 2017.However this was still significantly higher than the lowsexperienced in 2015 and 2016.

In 2018, EU Commission figures show that the averageEU raw milk price reached more than €34/100kg (35c/l),2% below 2017 but 2% above the 2013-2017 average. Notwithstanding some unprecedented extremeweather events in 2018, the output of the Irish dairyherd continued to increase. Production in 2018 reached7.585 billion litres, an increase of 4.3% compared to2017. Favourable grazing conditions in the last quarterof 2018 contributed to a surge in milk supplies to Irishprocessors with supply in December 2018 up by 23%compared to December 2017. Irish milk productionrepresented approximately 5% of total EU milkproduction in 2018.

As well as contributing to the objectives of Food Wise2025, enhancing access to international markets forIrish milk and milk products has gained increasedimportance as a result of Brexit. In recent years, the UKhas been the top market destination for Irish dairy.

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Hen Egg Registered TotalProducer Category Units Hen Places

Free Range 177 44%Enriched Caged 36 52%Organic 35 3%Barn 7 1%Total 255 100%

Primary Production

The UK accounted for over 50% of the value andvolume of Irish cheddar cheese since 2014, and over25% of Irish butter exports in both value and volumeterms.

Similar to meat, the Department is engaged in ongoingnegotiations with authorities in various third countriesto which Ireland is exporting milk and milk products.This includes the completion of market accessquestionnaires; negotiations in relation to health andveterinary certificates and establishment approvalapplications as well as participating in a range oftechnical and diplomatic meetings in order to try andaddress market access issues where appropriate. In2018, a re-registration process was successfullycompleted for Infant Formula Manufacturers exportingto the Chinese market.

The key EU market development in 2018 was the saleof approximately 357,00 tonnes of Skimmed MilkPowder (SMP) from EU intervention stocks which had

been overhanging the EU SMP market for the last fewyears. This will allow the SMP price to evolve on a moremarket driven basis in 2019 than in the recent past.

CROPS

Cereals

The overall production of cereals for the country wasestimated at 1.8 million tonnes for 2018 down from 2.3million tonnes in 2017 and significantly below the fiveyear rolling average.

The total cereal area harvested in 2018 was 258,000 harepresenting a fall of 13,700 ha or 5.9% from 2017. Dueto the long wet winter and late spring, yields of allcereals were below average as late planting and thesummer drought impacted all yields in 2018significantly.

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Source: Teagasc Estimated Cereal Production 2018 *refers to all production, which is subsequently sold or used alternatively, typically for feed

Area, Yield and Production of Cereals 2018*

Area Yield Production 000 ha) (t/ha) (000 tonnes)

Wheat 57.4 504Winter 53.9 8.91 480Spring 3.5 6.68 24

Barley 183.4 1,213Winter 57.2 8.80 503Spring 126.2 5.62 710

Oats 17.6 122Winter 10.1 7.82 79Spring 7.5 5.70 43

Totals 258.4 1,839

Sustainable Production

2018 Nitrates Derogation

The Nitrates Directive requires that farmers complywith a stocking rate limit of 170 kgs ofNitrogen (N) from livestock manure per hectare peryear (the equivalent of two dairy cows/ha). TheNitrates Derogation is an important facility forintensively stocked farms as it allows them, subject toadditional environmental conditions, to farm up to 250kgs N/ha, or the equivalent of three dairy cows perhectare. In December 2017, Ireland successfullysecured a renewal of our Nitrates Derogation for 2018 -2021. In 2018, a total of 6,891 farmers made an onlineapplication for a Nitrates Derogation.

Nitrogen and Phosphorus (N&P) Data 2018

The Department’s online system, www.agfood.ieprovides farmers with detailed N&P statements,reflecting stocking rates on their holding. Statementsare available online for the end of June, August,October, November and December periods. Interimstatements issue to farmers who registered to receivedata by text. Written statements for 2018 issued tofarmers that had cattle recorded as being in excess ofthe 170kg/ha limit, or 250 kg/ha for those who appliedfor a Derogation. In addition, advisors receive N&P datafor their clients at intervals during the year.

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SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION

Fertiliser and Lime Inspection Programme

The sale of fertiliser and lime in Ireland is regulated byboth EU and Irish legislation. This legislation ensuresthat products are labelled accurately and meetminimum nutrient requirements. As part of thefertiliser and lime inspection programme for 2018, a

total of 250 samples were taken at manufacturer’spremises (186 fertiliser samples and 64 lime samples).644 individual analyses were carried out for fertiliserswhich resulted in an out of tolerance of 3.9%. 253individual lime analyses were carried out with a resultof 9.5% out of tolerance.

There were a total of 47 active quarries in 2018 with nonew ground limestone quarries licensed during 2018.

Ground limestone usage was up significantly on the previous year (2017) by 38% to a total of 1,020,502 tonnes.This follows a decrease in lime use in 2017.

Year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18

Nitrogen (tonnes) 1,359,511 1,377,754 1,510,972 1,670,799 (% change) (-0.46%) (+1.34%) (+9.6%) (+10.6%)

Phosphorous (tonnes) 798,303 805,600 899,337 1,005,689 (% change) (+2.56%) (+0.9%) (+11.6%) (+11.8%)

Potassium (tonnes) 807,175 815,204 911,933 1,019,805 (% change) (+1.5%) (+1%) (+11.87%) (+11.8%)

TOTAL (tonnes) 1,395,399 1,411,913 1,552,809 1,714,729 (% change) (-0.53%) (+1.18%) (+9.98%) (+10.4%)

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

Ground Limestone sales (tonnes) 893,730 967,281 737,118 1,020,502

% change +10% +8.2% -24% +38%


Agricultural Catchment Programme (ACP)2018

Phase 3 of the ACP commenced in January 2016 andruns to 2019 and builds on the gains and experiencesfrom earlier phases of the programme.

The ACP works in partnership with over 300 farmers insix intensively farmed catchments and this farmerengagement, which is built on the relationships of theadvisers with their farmer clients, facilitates theresearch elements of the programme. The researchwork is carried out according to a single experimentaldesign which is implemented rigorously in eachcatchment. A range of biophysical and socio-economicparameters are used to evaluate the impact of theNational Action Plan (NAP) measures and thederogation implemented by farmers under the NitratesDirective. The outcomes of this research provide avaluable insight into the processes that determine theimpact of agricultural activity on water quality in thecatchments.

ACP research indicates that in 4 out of 5 of thecatchments, improvements in nutrient managementon land is evident.

Overall, evidence from the ACP indicates thatsupporting farmers, through technical advice, to makebetter decisions regarding how they manage nutrientapplications is likely to be the single area with thegreatest potential to improve outcomes for waterquality on Irish farms. This should deliver increasedefficiencies for the farmer while reducing risk ofnutrient loss to water.

Agricultural Sustainability Support andAdvisory Programme (ASSAP)

The Agricultural Sustainability Support and AdvisoryProgramme (ASSAP) is an innovative collaborativeinitiative supported by this Department and theDepartment of Housing Planning and LocalGovernemnt and industry to achieve farmerbehavioural change for the protection of water in orderto meet Water Framework Directive objectives.

It is a whole of Government, whole of sector approachto provide direct advice to farmers in 190 areas-for-action for the protection and improvement of waterquality. 30 sustainability advisors are assigned to thisprogramme, 20 provided by the Government and 10 bythe Dairy Co-ops. These 30 advisors are working withina unified partnership structure which encompassesTeagasc, the Co-ops and LAWCO (Local AuthoritiesWater and Communities Office).

The programme draws on the experience andresources of key sectoral and industry stakeholdersincluding the two Departments, the Local Authorities,the Dairy Co-ops, Teagasc, Bord Bia and the farmorganisations.

This is a new approach to achieving improvements inwater quality and supports the goals of the Food Wise2025 strategy, facilitating increased productivity hand-in-hand with a more sustanable sector. This will beachieved by advisors working with farmers focusing onimproved nutrient management with more targeteduse of fertiliser, better farmyard practice andappropriate measures for identified critical sourceareas. Over time more widespread sustainabilityapproaches developed by Teasasc will be implementedfocusing on climate change and biodiversity.

The second River Basin Management Plan (RBMP),published in April 2018, identifies that 1,460 river andlake water bodies are at risk of not meeting the WaterFramework Directive's quality objectives; agriculture isthe significant pressure in 53% of these water bodies.The Nitrates Regulations are the main agriculturalmeasure in the RBMP; these regulations lay downcomprehensive requirements for farmers to abide by to ensure the protection of waters from agriculturalsources. However, farmer compliance rate with theseregulations over the years has been unsatisfactoryleading to the conclusion that a new collaborativeinitiative is required for better farmer engagement.The ASSAP has been set up to provide free advice andsupport to farmers to assist with complying with thenitrates regulations, provide solutions for criticalsource areas and to improve water quality. It isestimated that there are around 20,000 farmers inthese 190 areas-for-action of which around 7,000 willbe receiving advice under this programme from 2018 to2021.

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Forestry

Forests cover 11% of the land area of the country, asignificant increase from a low of 1% forest cover at thebeginning of the 20th century. Private afforestation,undertaken with support from the State, contributed tothis increase, with forest cover in Ireland increasing bysome 320,000 hectares between 1985 and 2012. This isone of the highest levels of increase in forest coveramong developed countries. The development offorestry in Ireland over the last number of decades hasresulted in the creation of an indigenous andinternationally competitive industry that supports jobsand communities across rural Ireland. Notwithstandingan ongoing level of new planting, forest cover in Irelandat 11% is one of the lowest levels in Europe, with theEuropean (EU28) average being c.33%.

The establishment of new forests is funded under theAfforestation scheme, which forms part of the Forestryprogramme 2014-2020. The table below sets out thearea of new forests planted, for which grants were paid.

A midterm review (MTR) of the measures introduced aspart of the Forestry Programme 2014 -2020 (FP)undertaken by the Department in 2017, was completedin 2018.

Proposals arising from the Mid-Term Review wereadopted by the Government in February 2018,following which increased rates and new measureswere introduced, including:

� Increase of 2% in grant for Grant and Premium Categories (GPCs) 1- 3

� 7% increase in grant and 5% increase in premium for GPCs 4-10.

� Increase of 2% in premium for those who plant over10 hectares.

� Increase in the minimum mandatory requirement of broadleaves per site from 10% to 15% broadleaves

� Increased rates for Agro forestry and forestry for fibre categories,

� Increase in fencing cap across all GPCs (from 120m to 140m per hectare) to encourage planting in areas where the perimeter to area ratio is high.

A Forestry Programme Implementation Group wasestablished in May 2018. This group, which representsthe forestry sector, state organisations andenvironmental NGOs;

� Monitor the progress on implementation of the various measures and schemes under the Forestry programme.

� Identify issues in relation to delivery of targets and discuss how these issues can be resolved.

� Provide a forum for direct engagement between all of the various stakeholders.

The Department continues to promote forestry as aviable land use option and highlights the manybenefits derived from forestry. A Forestry PromotionsWorking Group was established in 2018, consisting ofrepresentatives from the Department, Teagasc and theforestry sector to provide a forum within which to putforward ideas on how to develop and promote theforestry sector in Ireland.

Woodland Environmental Fund (WEF)

The Department introduced the WoodlandEnvironmental Fund (WEF) in 2018, to further supportthe planting of native woodlands. This new initiativeprovides an opportunity for businesses to partner withthe Government and Irish landowners to get behindthe national effort to plant an additional 5 millionnative trees during the remaining two years of theprogramme. The WEF complements the Department’sexisting Afforestation Scheme which covers 100% ofthe cost of establishing native woodlands and also paysan annual premium to the landowner of up to €680 perhectare payable each year for 15 years. The WEFinvolves an additional top up of €1,000 per hectare bythe business as a once-off payment for farmers andother private landowners. Businesses taking part in theWEF are able to demonstrate their corporate socialresponsibilities by funding projects that are good forthe environment and society as a whole.

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Afforestation levels 2012-2018 (hectares)

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

6,652 6,252 6,156 6,293 6,500 5,536 4,025


The National Forest Inventory

Results from the third National Forest Inventory (NFI)were published in 2018. Multi-resource informationwas presented including information on forest area andspecies composition, growing stock (m3), biodiversity,health and vitality, carbon content and soil type, for theentire national forest estate. Preparations will begin,during 2019, for commencing the fourth NFI cycle in2020.

The COFORD Council

The COFORD Council is a body comprising ofstakeholders from across the forestry sector who areappointed by the Minister of State for Forestry to advisehis Department on issues related to the developmentof the forest sector in Ireland.

The COFORD advisory council 2016-2018 established anumber of Working Groups and published reports onthe following subjects:

� Forest Policy Review � Forest genetic resources� Land availability and the promotion of afforestation� The forest sector and the bioeconomy� Wood mobilisation and roundwood production

forecasting � The management of mixed forests� Long term forest research issues

A new COFORD Council for 2019 – 2021 has beenappointed by the Minister for State and will establish anumber of working groups in key thematic areas. Thepublished reports from the previous Council contain anumber of recommendations to develop the forestsector.

Further information on the Council and the objectivesand work being undertaken in the working groups isavailable at www.coford.ie. COFORD publications andworking group reports are available at www.coford.ie.

Initiatives to support private forest ownersto manage forests

Since the 1980s, some 22,000 individual landownershave established new forests in Ireland. This representsan investment by the State of approximately €3 billion.Although plantation forests form approximately 7% ofthe world’s forests, they supply over a third of theworld’s timber (FAO) and continue to play an importantrole in providing multiple benefits.

According to the All Ireland Roundwood ProductionForecast 2016 – 2035, published by COFORD, woodproduction is set to double from 4 million cubic metresto 8 million cubic metres by 2035 mostly from theseprivately owned forests. In order to realise, andmaximise, the return on the investment by the Stateand landowners in forestry to date, the mobilisation(harvesting, extraction and use) of this timber isessential, thereby also creating economic activity alongthe supply chain through activities such as harvesting,transportation, replanting and processing. TheCOFORD Council has published a number of reportshighlighting key barriers to mobilisation which need tobe addressed to ensure timber is harvested at thelevels forecasted.

As the level of supply from the private sector increases,forestry certification will need to increase to ensurecontinued access to markets. In order to address someof these barriers, the Department initiated twoprojects, namely the development of ForestryKnowledge Transfer Groups and Group Certification forPrivate Forest Owners.

Knowledge transfer groups for forestry

‘Mobilising Ireland’s Timber Resource’, a policydocument issued by COFORD, identified a number ofbarriers to private timber mobilisation (i.e. extractionand sale of timber from privately owned forests) inIreland. These barriers include the fragmentation of theprivate forest estate – with forests averaging 8.8hectares in the ownership of 22,000 private forestowners.

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http://www.coford.ie/


Forest owner groups were developed some years agoto share information and experiences, with somesubsequently managing their forests collectively andorganising management and transport operations tomaximise economies of scale. Given the number offorest owners not currently engaging in suchinformation sharing groups, it became apparent thatforest owners should be facilitated to come together toshare knowledge and experience. Following asuccessful pilot scheme in 2017, the ForestryKnowledge Transfer Group (KTG) Scheme waslaunched by Minister Doyle T.D. in August 2018. TheKTG module in 2018, which comprised of 33 groupstotalling 605 participants, focussed on timbermobilisation and biomass. The purpose of the ForestryKTG scheme is to provide private forest owners withadditional knowledge and support in managementactivities in their forest. The scheme uses peer-to-peerlearning, where the group, assisted by a forestryprofessional acting as facilitator, discusses and sharesknowledge on various topics. There were sevenlearning events in each module, with up to two eventsat outdoor venues, such as a saw mill or a forestry site.

Group Certification for Private ForestOwners

Forest certification is a voluntary process undertakenby forestry owners to reassure consumers that thewood and wood products they buy comes fromsustainably managed forests. Certificationindependently assesses forest management planningand practices against a sustainable forestrymanagement standard. According to the COFORDWood Mobilisation Group Report (2015), few privatelyowned forests in Ireland (estimated to be less than6,000 hectares in total) are certified under the FSC orthe PEFC forest certification standards.

Many thousands of hectares of private woodland areapproaching the stage of first, and subsequent,thinning which will result in a sharp increase in supplyof logs from this source in the near future. There is,however, a limit of 30% of uncertified material that thesaw and panel mills may absorb with the supply oftimber from private forests now close to exceeding thislimit.

Barriers to forest certification for private forest ownersinclude the cost and complexity of achieving thisaccreditation. The Department established twocertification groups for private forest owners in 2018 toaddress these barriers. A template for certification wasalso launched in 2018 to assist forest owners and isavailable on http://www.groupcertification.ie/

Organic Farming

While the Organic Sector in Ireland is still relativelysmall in relation to agriculture as a whole, the OrganicSector is one experiencing considerable growth atpresent. There are currently 2,127 organic operators inIreland, of whom over 1,700 are farmers. The area ofland under organic production has expandeddramatically under the current Rural DevelopmentProgramme, thanks to the suite of supports that havebeen put in place. Latest figures indicate that there arenow some 72,000 hectares under organic production,an increase of nearly 50% on the position at the start ofthe Programme in 2014.

Organic Farming Operators and Hectarage

A range of organic events took place in 2018 to raiseawareness on organic farming. In February 2018, BordBia co-ordinated Ireland’s participation at Biofach,which is the most important international trade eventfor organic food industry professionals and companies.Those attending the event, both from Europe andfurther afield, are predominantly purchasing decision-makers from the retail, food service and distributionsectors.

Other events in 2018 included the demonstrationorganic farms programme organised by Teagasc, whichinvolved a range of different enterprises.

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2014 2016 2017 2018

1,587 2,127 2,136 2,127 (48,143ha) (72,364ha) (70,722ha) (71,000ha)


Organic capital grant schemes under the RDPcontinued to provide grant aid for investments byfarmers and processors in facilities and equipment.Grant aid of 40% of the cost, up to a maximum of€60,000, in the case of on-farm investments and€500.000 for investments off-farm is available.

Genetic Resources

An annual call for proposals in relation to theconservation of plant, animal, forestry, micro-organisms, invertebrates and aquatic genetic resourcesis issued under the Genetic Resources Grant AidScheme. A total of €84,000 was awarded in 2018 toseven projects to support research relating to a rangeof topics including in-situ conservation and restorationof habitats for wild crops;

� the genetic characterisation of Heritage oats, � the molecular characterisation of the Irish Apple

genome, � assessing the genetic integrity of the buff-tailed

bumblebee and optimisation and monitoring for Arctic Char and pollen in Irish lakes.

For further information:https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/otherfarmersschemes/conservationofgeneticresourcesforfoodandagriculture/geneticresourcesprojects/

Climate Change

The long-term policy vision for the agriculture and landuse sector is ‘an approach to carbon neutrality in theagriculture and land use sector, including forestry,which does not compromise the capacity forsustainable food production’. During 2018 workcontinued in the pursuit of opportunities forabatement and opportunities for balancing residualemissions through increasing carbon sequestrationand fossil fuel and energy intensive materialsdisplacement and substitution.

Based on the most recent National Inventory Report,Ireland’s forests sequestered 3.6 million tonnes of CO2eq and a further 0.8 million tonnes was added to theharvested wood product pool in 2016. During 2018, twokey EU Regulations were adopted, the Effort Sharingand LULUCF Regulations, which set climate change

targets for the 2021-2030 period. These Regulationsaddress the specificities of accounting emissions andremovals from land use and provide recognition of landbased mitigation measures in line with the ParisAgreement. This will result in forests and other landsplaying an important role in Ireland’s emissionreduction targets and will require continued efforts toexpand forest cover and to protect the existing forestestate.

Under the LULUCF Regulation (2018/841) Ireland wasrequired to develop and submit a forest reference level(FRL) representing the emissions and removals that areprojected to occur on managed forest land during2021-2025 based on the continuation of sustainablemanagement practices. This will be used as a baselinefor accounting purposes during the first accountingperiod of the Regulation. This was prepared andsubmitted during 2018 and will be reviewed during2019 by the EU Commission and other EU MemberStates. A copy of the National Forest Accounting Planand FRL is available on the Department’s website.

Adaptation and Mitigation Planning

Ireland’s first statutory National Adaptation Frameworkwas published in January 2018 and identified twelvepriority areas where sectoral adaptation plans arerequired to be prepared. This Department is the leadDepartment for three of these priority areas:agriculture, forestry and seafood. During 2018, workcommenced on the development of a first statutorysectoral adaptation plan for the three areas under theDepartment’s remit which must be submitted toGovernment no later than 30 September 2019.

An annual sectoral mitigation and adaptationtransition statement for the agriculture and forestsector was presented to each House of the Oireachtasduring 2018.

Towards the end of 2018 preparations commenced forthe development of an All of Government Plan to tackleclimate disruption. This Plan builds on the NationalMitigation Plan and will include actions to deliver onour climate targets.

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https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/otherfarmersschemes/conservationofgeneticresourcesforfoodandagriculture/geneticresourcesprojects/


The 2018 Annual Review of the Climate ChangeAdvisory Council was published in July. The Reportincludes advice and recommendations for action in anumber of sectors including the agriculture and landuse. In addition the Council indicated that agriculturewould be one of the areas of focus on over the next 12months.

In December 2018, the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) produced provisional estimates ofgreenhouse gas emissions for the period 1990 – 2017.These figures have since been finalised. Agricultureemissions increased by 2.9% or 0.57 Mt CO2eq in 2017.The most significant drivers for the increasedemissions in 2017 are higher dairy cow numbers(+3.1%) with an increase in milk production of 9.2%.Emissions from Agriculture in 2017 remain 0.7% belowtheir 1990 levels but have increased for 5 out of the last6 years.

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Distribution ofIrish agricultureemissions 2017:

Agricultural soils 28.2%

Manure management 9.8%

Lime and Urea 1.8%

Enteric fermentation 57.1%

Agricultural combustion 2.8%

Agriculture 33.3%

Waste 1.5%

Energy Industries 19.3%

Residential 9.5%

Manufactuing combustion 7.7%

Commercial Services 1.8%

Public Services 1.5%

Transport 19.8%

Industrial Processes 3.7%

F-Gases 2.0%

Greenhouse gasemissions in Ireland2017


Clean Air Strategy

The Clean Air Strategy for Ireland lead by theDepartment of Communications, Climate Action andEnvironment (DCCAE) provides an opportunity toaddress air pollution in Ireland. It contains a suite ofpolicies and legislative proposals to update andmodernise EU clean air legislation. A key component isa revised National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD)with more ambitious and protective national emissionceilings for key pollutants which sets tighter limits for2030 for five air pollutants - particulate matter (PM10and PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides(NOx), ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds(VOC). The revised NEC Directive was transposed intoIrish law transposed in 2018.

The NECD also requests that Member States prepare aNational Air Pollution Control Program (NAPCP) tocover all emissions covered by the directive and inrelation to ammonia to develop a voluntary code ofbest practice on how to reduce emissions of ammoniaarising from agricultural activity. This Departmentcommenced work on the voluntary code of bestpractice for ammonia.

Bioenergy

The main contribution of the agriculture and forestsectors is in the supply of bioenergy feedstock,whether from biomass in the form of wood productssuch as forest thinnings and wood fuel, animal byproducts (ABP) or other agri-food by-products such asstraw, slurries and processing waste, e.g. whey fromcheese-making. Other sources of biomass includeenergy crops or grass silage.

The mid-term review of the Forestry Programme 2014-2020 was published in early 2018 and includedsubstantial increases in the premiums paid for growingtrees suitable for fibre and biomass.

This Department continues to work closely withDepartment Communications, Climate Action andEnvironment to explore further opportunities forencouraging the sustainable use of farm manures, agriresidues and forest based biomass that can displacefossil fuels and energy intensive materials.

A new Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) waslaunched in 2018 by SEAI and is open to commercial,industrial, agricultural, district heating, public sector

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Total Agriculture and Land Use Emission Levels

National target Vs 1990 baseline 1990 2017CO2eq Tons CO2eq Tons Variance %

Overall total agricultural 20.35 20.21 -0.69%and land use emission levels1

Total agricultural CO2eq emission levels 19.62 19.65 0.16%- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 0.40 0.37 -7.94%- Methane (CH4) 12.76 12.97 1.60%- Nitrus Oxide (N2O) 6.44 6.30 -2.19%

Total agricultural land use related emission levels2

Grassland and Cropland 6.88 6.53Forestry -3.861 -4.013Harvested Wood Products -0.413 -0.817


and other non-domestic heat users. The schemeopened with grant support for the installation of airsource, ground source and water source heat pumps.An operational support is to follow.

The Department supports renewable heat technologiesin the form of supports for biomass boilers under thePig and Poultry Investment Scheme (PPIS) and theYoung Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS). Air-source heat pumps are currently supported under PPISand YFCIS schemes and they may be used as part of awater heater under the Dairy Equipment Scheme.Grant aid is also available under PPIS and YFCISschemes for solar panels used for electricity production(photovoltaic) and water heating that are permanentlyerected to buildings used for pig, poultry and eggproduction. New energy grants under TAMS wereannounced in early 2019 with grant aid for solar PVnow extended to all sectors and all lighting fundedunder the scheme will be required to be LED lighting.

Energy efficiency is fundamental to reducing carbonemissions and energy costs. Some of the elements ofTAMS II support the installation of new dairyequipment which is more energy efficient than oldertechnology. Furthermore the Sustainable EnergyAuthority of Ireland (SEAI) re-opened the pilot dairyenergy efficiency scheme which grant aided theinstallation of variable speed drives.

The Department continued to support the promotionof the Wood Fuel Quality Assurance scheme and theprovision of advice on forest-based biomass supplychains and fuels. See www.woodenergy.ie. New woodenergy supply chain software was developed by theDepartment and made available through thewww.coford.ie and www.woodenergy.ie websites. Inaddition, a number of workshops related to thissoftware were organised nationally.

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Seafood Sector

Deliver a sustainable, growth driven sectorfocused on competitivenessand innovation driven by askilled workforce deliveringvalue added products in linewith market demands

Seafood

Overview

The Irish seafood industry comprises of the commercialsea fishing industry, the aquaculture industry and theseafood processing industry. The seafood industry isbased on the utilisation of a high quality, indigenousnatural resource, which has excellent potential foradded value and makes a significant contribution tothe national economy in terms of output, employmentand exports.

Seafood exports

The seafood sector offers huge potential for expansionas global demand for seafood as a healthy premiumprotein increases. Over the next decade, consumptionis projected to grow by 42 million tonnes per annumaccording to the Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) as the world population is set to reach 8 billionby 2025. It is clear that a huge expansion in foodproduction, including seafood, will be required world-wide to meet this need.

The value of Irish seafood exports in 2018 wasestimated to be in the region of €562 million, an 8%decline on the record value attained in 2017.Challenges were found across the sector andparticularly so in salmon where export values declined36% as a result of limits on production volume. Globaldemand for seafood continued to increase in 2018 andIrish exporters reported strong demand for theirproducts in the main export markets.

The main EU markets, France, Spain, UK, Italy andGermany account for approximately 58% (€326 million)of total exports by value. The International marketaccounted for approximately 30% of total exports in2018. Exports to the four main Asian markets (China,Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan) increased by anestimated 19% in value terms in 2018 compared to2017. These markets accounted for almost 14% of totalseafood export values. The wider South East Asianmarkets (Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia andThailand) accounted for over 15% (€84 million) of totalexport values in 2018.

Main product trends

In the pelagic sector, a reduction of 20% in Ireland’stotal allowable catch for mackerel had a direct impacton the volumes exported in 2018. However, prices anddemand for Irish mackerel were strong particularly inAsia where there was a shortage of stocks. The bestperforming pelagic markets in 2018 were in Asia and inEurope. Demand for Irish mackerel in China hasincreased by around 10% in value, while demand forIrish horse mackerel increased by 84% in Japan. TheAfrican markets performed well earlier in the year butstruggled to match the new price levels. Core marketsin Europe also performed well. Spain remains ourmain market for whitefish followed by the UK andFrance, these markets represent over 85% of totalwhitefish exports. The Irish whitefish total allowablecatch remained relatively stable in 2018 compared to2017.

Export values on Irish shellfish were extremely strongthroughout 2018 as demand continued across manyexport markets. The largest shellfish export in 2018was frozen prawns, which accounted for an estimated9% of total seafood exports.

The live crab sector had a very productive year,growing in export value by 61% with excellentperformances being recorded in China, whichincreased in value terms by 212% during 2018. This wasdriven by a doubling in export volumes to this marketand a 38% increase in the average price per tonne.

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Seafood

Exports of prepared shellfish which include clams andwhelks, decreased in value by 2% during the yeardespite volumes increasing by 24% during this period.South Korea, which remains the main export market,accounting for almost 70% of total exports in thiscategory, decreased in value by 4% during the year.Exports to China increased by 15% while strong exportgrowth to Hong Kong was also recorded, increasing invalue by 116% during the year.

The Irish oyster sector had another strong value growthyear with export values increasing by 12%. Exports ofpacked oysters to China and Hong Kong continue todrive the majority of the value gains with exports toChina increasing by 121% and to Hong Kong by morethan 52%. In 2018, salmon export values dropped by44% while the price of Irish salmon increased asdemand drives the organic salmon sector. The Frenchmarket continued to dominate Irish salmon exports,accounting for 56% of total values, but it decreased invalue in 2018 by around 31%. This was driven by a 37%drop in export volumes as prices remained strong(+10%).

Common Fisheries Policy

The seas around Ireland (ICES Sub Areas 6 and 7)contain some of the most productive and biologicallysensitive areas in EU waters. The fisheries stockswithin these areas come under the remit of theCommon Fisheries Policy (CFP).

The main objective of the CFP is to allow for therebuilding of fish stocks in European waters over timewhich will support the viability of the European fishingindustry through long term management of stocks,reducing and eliminating discards and rebuildingstocks to Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY).

� Phased ending of discards – The discard ban or landing obligation, which is a key element of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), is being phased in over a number of years and is due to be fully implemented by 2019. The North West Waters Regional Group of Member States, (Ireland, Belgium, France, UK, Netherlands and Spain), is in place to manage fisheries at a regional level under the Common Fisheries Policy, meets regularly to agree discard plans and other fisheries measures in consultation with the relevant stakeholders. The

group met regularly throughout 2018 to discuss various implementation issues for the landing obligation and also agreed to the inclusion of additional measures to support the phasing in of the landing obligation by the target date of January 2019.

� Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) is the level which allows the highest catch of fish while keeping stockssustainable in the long term. Under the current Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) fishing is to be progressively managed at Maximum Sustainable Yield levels by 2020 at the latest. The catch limits proposed by the European Commission in the Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea has seen over exploitation decline drastically over the last number of years. Fishing opportunities negotiated at the December 2018 Agriculture & Fisheries Council were fixed for 2019 in line with this objective. A total of 59 fisheries stocks for which data are available are now within the required levels and are on target to meet the objectives set out in the Common Fisheries Policy.

� Multi-annual fisheries plans - The aim of multi-annual fisheries plans is to restore and maintain fishstocks at sustainable levels while ensuring the social and economic viability for fishermen operating in certain regions. To date four multi-annual plans have been proposed by the European Commission in line with the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). In March 2018, the European Commission proposed a multiannual plan for management of fisheries in Western Waters, which is extremely important from an Irish perspective. Negotiations resulted in a provisional political agreement between the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament in 2018. This plan is on schedule to come into full effect early in 2019.

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Fisheries Management and Conservation

Fish Quota Management 2018

In 2018, the Department was responsible for managingover 215,765 tonnes of fish quotas. As part of thismanagement process, under the Sea-Fisheries andMaritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, 1,401 authorisationsand amendments were issued. In addition, 80 FisheriesManagement Notices and four Statutory Instrumentswere brought into effect by the Minister to support themanagement of Ireland’s fisheries.

Also in 2018, 40 separate Demersal (whitefish andprawn) fish stocks were managed in consultation withthe Quota Management Advisory Committee. Catchlimits set out in the Fisheries Management Notice aredisplayed on the Department’s web-site and circulatedto industry representative organisations

2019 Total Allowable Catches and Quotas

In the context of preparing for the annual EUnegotiations, a Sustainability Impact Assessment onTotal Allowable Catches (TACs) and quotas for 2019 waspresented to the Dáil by the Minister in November,2018. The Sustainability Impact Assessment wasdeveloped following input from the marine agenciesincluding the SFPA, BIM and MI and a meeting involvingall relevant stakeholders which took place in November2018.

The EU Fisheries Council in December 2018 agreedTACs and quotas for 2019. The Minister secured 193,613tonnes of quotas worth €260 million for Irish fishermenfor 2019. One of the key achievements of thesenegotiations was the +30% increase in the whitefishquota for the North West worth over €16.4 million forthe Irish fleet. The full implementation of the Landingobligation also presented challenges. Irelandsuccessfully argued for a practical and sustainableapproach in relation to key ‘choke’ stocks in the contextof the full implementation of the discards ban.Restricted by-catch quotas for a number of these stocksthat would prohibit direct targeting were agreed. Thelimited by-catch quotas will assist in delivering on thediscards ban while ensuring the ongoing viability of ourprimary commercial fisheries.

SeaFest 2018 – Harnessing Our OceanWealth – Developing Ireland’s BlueEconomy

SeaFest 2018 attracted over 103,400 visitors to GalwayHarbour and Docks during the three-day event from 29June to 1 July 2018. The final day of festivities attractedthe largest number of visitors to SeaFest since it wasestablished in 2015. As Ireland's national maritimefestival, SeaFest aims to strengthen our maritimeidentity, increasing participation and engagement withthe sea in accordance with Goal 3 of Harnessing OurOcean Wealth (Ireland’s Integrated Marine Plan).Working together with a wide range of partner agenciesand organisations, the Marine Institute co-ordinatedSeaFest on behalf of the cross-government MarineCoordination Group, which is chaired by the Ministerfor Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Departmentsmarine agencies, BIM, SFPA and Bord Bia were alsocentral to the event showcasing Ireland’s range ofactivities highlighting Ireland’s diverse seafoodindustry and resource.

The associated fifth 'Our Ocean Wealth Summit' alsotook place as part of Seafest. The 2018 Summit focusedon optimising, commercialising, managing andprotecting Ireland’s Blue Economy, worth over €2billion directly to the economy each year, with theoverall theme of 'Investing in Marine Ireland'. MinisterCreed addressed delegates at the Summit, welcominggrowth trends in Ireland's Blue Economy. The Ministeralso launched, on behalf of Government, the annualHarnessing Our Ocean Wealth Review of Progress. Inaddition to Minister Creed's address, Ministersrepresenting the following Government Departmentsalso addressed the Summit – Department ofCommunications, Climate Action and Environment,Department of Housing, Planning and LocalGovernment and Department of Culture, Heritage andthe Gaeltacht. The keynote speaker for the 2018Summit was Mary Robinson.

Other key events that took place during SeaFestincluded The Marine Ireland Trade Show organised byEnterprise Ireland, a commemoration event – Life andthe Sea – a civic and military service to remember allthose who have lost their lives at sea and recognisingthe heroism of the men and women of our rescueservices.

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At a local level in the host city of Galway, it is estimatedthat SeaFest and associated events in 2018 generated€6.5 million in direct income for the city’s tourismindustry. Local, national and international mediacoverage of the festival reached record levels. Forexample, media coverage reached an estimatedaudience of 16.5 million with SeaFest 2018 featured onshows such as RTÉ Nationwide and RTÉ Countrywide.SeaFest also received a national award for ‘BestCultural Event’ at the 2018 Event Industry Awards andwas described by judges as “a great celebration ofIreland’s maritime heritage that serves an importantcultural purpose.”

In October 2018 the Minister for Agriculture, Food andthe Marine, announced that Cork will host SeaFest forthe 3-year period 2019 – 2021. Cork will also hostEuropean Maritime Day in 2020, which will coincidewith SeaFest.

Aquaculture Licensing

The Aquaculture Review Group carried out a detailedinvestigation of the existing aquaculture licensingprocess, undertook comprehensive stakeholderconsultation and examined comparative national andinternational consent systems to determine bestpractice for managing a complex licensing process in atransparent, environmentally appropriate and legallyrobust manner.

Since receiving the Report, the Department hasengaged in detailed consideration of therecommendations set out in the Report with a view totheir implementation, having regard to the legislative,environmental, technical and public interest issuesthat arise. The Department has also engaged closelywith industry representatives and relevant StateAgencies.

The core recommendation of the Licensing ReviewGroup was to eliminate the Aquaculture Licensingbacklog. In response the Department has undertaken atwo year project to eliminate the shellfish licensingbacklog. 305 licence determinations were achieved in2018 and the Department is committed to achieving afurther 300 licence determinations in 2019.

In relation to finfish aquaculture a focused modularapproach towards addressing the backlog in finfishlicensing will be accelerated. The processing ofapplications for finfish licences in the marineenvironment is complex, due to the requirement foroperators to produce Environmental ImpactStatements and for the Department and relevantAgencies to analyse these reports in detail. TheDepartment must then produce an EnvironmentalImpact Assessment (EIA) in relation to eachapplication.

At the end of 2018 Appropriate Assessments had beenreceived by the Department in respect of twenty ninebays – Ballymacoda Bay, Ballyness Bay, Bannow Bay,Ballycotton Bay, Blacksod / Broadhaven, CastlemaineHarbour, Clew Bay, Donegal Bay, DrumcliffBay/Cummeen Harbour, Dundalk Bay, DungarvanHarbour, Galway Bay, Gweedore Bay, Kenmare Bay,Kilkieran Bay, Lough Swilly, Loughros Beg Bay / SlieveTooey / Tormor Is., Mannin Bay / Slyne Head, MulroyBay, River Barrow and River Nore, Roaringwater Bay,Rutland Island and Sound, Shannon Estuary,Sheephaven Bay, Tralee Bay Complex, Trawbreaga Bay,Valentia Harbour/Portmagee Channel, West of Ardara /Maas Road and Wexford Harbour. These AppropriateAssessments fulfil the requirement under the EU Birdsand Habitats Directives to adequately assess theimpact of aquaculture licensing in ‘Natura 2000’ areas.

Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017

The Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill was before theOireachtas in 2018. (The Bill passed all stages in theHouses of the Oireachtas in the first quarter of 2019.)The Government approved the publication of the Bill inearly 2017. The Bill seeks to provide legislativeamendments to the Sea-Fisheries and MaritimeJurisdiction Act 2006 in order to address the SupremeCourt finding in October 2016 that fishing by NorthernIreland vessels within the 0-6 nautical mile zone of theterritorial waters of the State is not permitted by law.

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Developing Sustainable Inshore Fisheries

The National Inshore Fisheries Forum (NIFF) met onthree occasions during 2018 to discuss and developproposals concerning inshore fisheries and theirinteractions with Natura 2000 sites. The NIFF issupported by a network of six Regional InshoreFisheries Forums (RIFFs), which involve representationfrom inshore fisheries and other marine stakeholders. A dedicated website provides information on the workof the Forums: www.inshoreforums.ie.

Throughout the year, the NIFF was engaged in theprocess of developing a strategy specific to the inshoresector, the first time an industry-led body hasundertaken this task. An inclusive approach was takento identifying key issues and priorities for the sector,with a Steering Group made up of industry and Statepartners, including representatives of the NIFF. Theprocess included a dedicated workshop as well as apublic consultation. The strategy was due to belaunched in early 2019.

The Minister approved an industry-proposed increaseof the Minimum Conservation Reference Size (MCRS)for landings of North Irish Sea razor clam by Irish sea-fishing boats. The measure increased this MCRS from100mm to 125mm, following discussions with the NIFFon the results of a public consultation on the proposalearlier in the year. A public consultation was also heldon another industry-led management proposal thatwould see an increase to the MCRS for landings ofbrown crab.

Management of the all-island mussel seed fisherycontinued in 2018, with the autumn fishing seasoncommencing in September. The Marine StewardshipCouncil (MSC) issued continued certification for thefishery in July 2018, following a reassessment of thefishery completed by SAI Global. The certification,which is valid for five years, says the fishery has beenfound to comply with the MSC requirements and iswell-managed and sustainable. This follows a previousconditional certification received in 2013.

Implementation of Natura 2000 Directives

Natura 2000 is an EU network of core breeding andresting sites for rare and threatened species, and somerare natural habitat types which are protected in theirown right. The Marine Institute (the state agencyresponsible for marine research, technologydevelopment and innovation in Ireland) previouslyprepared a risk assessment of sea-fisheries interactionswith Natura 2000 protected species and habitats alongthe South and West coasts of Ireland. It expects tocomplete a similar assessment for protected birdspecies in 2019. These assessments are being madeunder Article 6.2 of the European Union’s HabitatsDirective. A similar risk assessment was completed bythe Institute in 2013 for fishing activities in Natura 2000sites in the Irish Sea (East coast). The Institute alsoprepared a schedule for addressing the risks identifiedbased on the type of fishery and the nature of the riskposed. Working with the National and RegionalInshore Fisheries Forums, the Government hascommenced actions to address risks posed by sea-fisheries activities on a priority basis.

An appropriate assessment of the mussel seed fisheryin the Irish Sea was concluded in 2018, with theMinister adopting the modified fisheries Natura planand issuing a fisheries Natura declaration for thefishery.

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act2015, building on the National Climate ChangeAdaptation Framework, provides for the preparation ofSectoral Adaptation Plans. A range of adaptationactions for the Seafood Sector are being prepared withinput from the Marine Institute, BIM, the SFPA, as wellas expert advice from UCC and will form part of anoverall action plan for the Department which addressesthe Agriculture, Forestry and Seafood sectors. This planis expected to be published for public consultationtowards the end of Q2 2019 in advance of a final planbeing presented to the Minister. Sectoral plans are duefor submission to the Government for approval by 30September 2019.

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European Maritime and Fisheries Fund OP2014-2020 (EMFF)

Ireland’s 2014-2020 EMFF Programme was formallyadopted by the European Commission in December2015 and contains a broad range of support measuresto foster the sustainable growth of the seafood sector(fisheries, aquaculture and processing). TheProgramme is co-funded by the European Union andthe Government of Ireland. EU support for theProgramme will amount to €147.6 million over theseven-year Programme lifespan and this EU fundingwill be supplemented by Government funding, to bringthe total support available under the Programme toapproximately €239.2 million.

All EMFF schemes were operational by the end of 2018.In the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018 thefollowing actions were supported under the EMFF OP2014-2020.

Union Priority 2018 Public Expenditure

Sustainable Development of Fisheries €9,486,234Sustainable Development of Aquaculture €4,319,818Supporting the Common Fisheries Policy €13,927,431Community Led Local Development €1,830,820Marketing & Processing of €4,550,398Seafood ProductsSupporting the €1,139,214Integrated Maritime Policy

While progress on the implementation of the EMFF OPis monitored and reported to the Commission annually,evaluation of its contribution to achieving policyobjectives is reported periodically i.e., in 2017, 2019and 2024. Programme impacts at the end of 2018 willbe evaluated as part of an enhanced AnnualImplementation Report to be submitted toCommission in June 2019.

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Fishery Harbour and CoastalInfrastructure Capital

Development Programme In 2018, the total voted expenditure on this programmewas €24.6 million, of which €22.8 million was spent onthe Fishery Harbour Centres, with a further €0.1 millionspent on Cape Clear Island and for maintaining a rangeof piers, lights and beacons around the coast under theDepartment’s remit. The significant investment onthese works is project managed by the Department’sEngineering Division which also provides technicalsupport and advisory and inspectorial services on allfishery harbour developments.

Key Projects in Fishery Harbour Centres in2018

CastletownbereHarbour pier development works currently underconstruction at Castletownbere will provide anexpansion of the existing Dinish Wharf to include anadditional 216 meter length of quay, capital dredgingworks, two rock armoured breakwaters and associatedworks. The €23.44 million works contract was awardedin July 2018. The construction works commenced inOctober 2018, progressing steadily through to year endwith site establishment, construction enabling works,capital dredging, and steel sheet piling to extend thepier. This project incurred an expenditure of €7.6million in 2018.

Works also commenced in January 2018 on theconstruction of a new Harbour Administration buildingat the Mainland Quay, Castletownbere, the works willinclude demolition of the old auction hall and existingharbour offices and the new building will provide afocal point in the harbour and will contribute to theredevelopment of the harbour and town areas tocoincide with proposed traffic managementimprovements planned for the town. This project hadan expenditure of €1.4 million in 2018.

Dinish Wharf Expansion, Castletownbere FHCPhotomontage of proposed development

Dinish Wharf Expansion, Castletownbere FHCConstruction Contract Works in progress 2018

DingleIn 2018, a project comprising additional Piling Worksand a new Pontoon System was completed in theEastern Basin, with a total project cost of €1.07 million(including expenditure of €0.17 million in 2018). Thisprovides much more efficient use of the space in theEastern Basin and provides safe berthage for up to 35of the smaller commercial vessels using Dingle FHC.Additionally, the dredging works to the navigationchannel to the port that commenced in 2017 werecompleted in 2018, with reinstatement of the easternlandside area at a total project cost of €5 million(including expenditure of €1.9 million in 2018).

KillybegsTo meet the increasing demand from the fishingindustry, work commenced in 2017 on the constructionof 120 metres of new quay face at Smooth Point. Thepier extension will accommodate vessels with a draft ofup to 9 metres at low water. Phase 1 of the project wascompleted in 2018, with a total project cost of €5.8million (including a 2018 expenditure of €4.3 million).Phase 1 primarily included the dredging ofcontaminated sediment, bringing it ashore fortreatment and stabilisation and subsequent disposalfor beneficial re-use.

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Fishery Harbour and CoastalInfrastructure Capital

Development Programme Dunmore EastPhase 3 of the West Wharf Remedial and ImprovementWorks was completed in October 2018, with a totalproject cost of €1.7 million (including expenditure of€1.4 million in 2018). The works involved thedemolition of 96 meter length of the existing wharfdeck and its replacement with a new reinforcedconcrete wharf structure, remedial works to theexisting reinforced concrete piles and the replacementof the existing greenheart fenders with super archfenders. This project will further enhance the facilitiesat the port, following on from the substantial dredgingproject completed in 2015.

Local Authority Harbour Infrastructure

In 2018, a total of €1.6 million was spent on works atLocal Authority owned harbours, piers and slipwaysunder the Fishery Harbour and Coastal InfrastructureCapital Development Programme and the MarineLeisure and Marine Tourism Programme. A total of 47projects from coastal Local Authorities around thecountry benefited from the funding.

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Strategic GoalCorporate Development

Maintain and developstrategic, operational,regulatory and technicalcapacity to achieveoperational excellence

Financial Management

Overall Expenditure

The Department was responsible for Voted expenditureof over €1.546 billion in 2018. In addition to votedexpenditure, the Department spent €1.229 billion in EUEAGF funded schemes, bringing total expenditure to€2.7 billion.

EU Receipts

The Department claimed and received funding fromthe EU in 2018 in respect of measures financed fromthe following EU Funds:

� EAGF (European Agriculture Guarantee Fund ) � Veterinary Fund � Fisheries Fund

Expenditure on Irish Agriculture, 2018

1,229 Direct Payments 1,208

Intervention/APS 19.5*Other Market Supports 4.5Other (3)

Voted Expenditure (excluding Administration) 1,309*Programme A – Food Safety, Animal and 87Plant Health and Animal Welfare

*Programme B – Farm/Sector Support and Controls 752

*Programme C – Policy and Strategy 351

*Programme D – Seafood Sector 119

Administration 237Total Voted Expenditure 1,546Total Expenditure 2,775

* includes €17.5 million as a result of depreciation of skimmed milk powder in stock

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Financial Controls

The Department operates a comprehensive range offinancial management, control and accounting systemsto comply with EU, national accounting andgovernance requirements.

In accordance with stringent EU accreditationrequirements, the Department submitted itsindependently certified annual accounts ofexpenditure to the EU Commission. The Department’sperformance as a National Paying Agency continued tobe monitored during 2018 by the Accreditation ReviewGroup (ARG). The Secretary General chairs this groupwhich includes representatives from the Department ofPublic Expenditure and Reform, the RevenueCommissioners and the Department of Rural andCommunity Development. It met on four occasionsduring 2018. One of the Group’s key duties is to ensurethat the recommendations of the Certification Body forthe previous year are implemented and that all EUaudit findings are followed up appropriately.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee was established to provideindependent and objective advice to the SecretaryGeneral on the internal audit policies, the managementof risk appropriate to the functioning of theDepartment and the operation of the internal auditfunction. The Committee operates under a Charterwhich defines the purpose, authority and reportingrelationships of the Audit Committee, Internal AuditUnit and management of the Department.The Committee met four times in 2018 and the

Chairman also met with the Secretary General on twoseparate occasions. In its 2017 Annual Report which theChair presented to the Management Board theCommittee expressed satisfaction with the controlsoperated by the Department as evidenced by theoutcome of audits completed by the Internal AuditUnit.

Internal Audit Unit

The Internal Audit Unit (IAU) completed a substantialbody of internal, food safety and scrutiny audit workduring 2018. The IAU operates in accordance with bestpractice and the professional internal auditingstandards of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Itfollows a comprehensive and widely recognisedapproach towards finalising its annual auditprogramme including consideration of:

� The Department’s Risk Register� Details of expenditure (national and EU)� Consideration of the full audit universe

During 2018, the Unit completed fifteen internal auditreports on a variety of areas including the €1.25 billionBasic Payment and Greening Schemes, the Governanceof State Bodies and the Department’s Procurementprocesses. The findings from these audits allowed theDirector of Internal Audit to indicate in the IAU AnnualReport that the “Secretary General and ManagementBoard can take reasonable assurance that adequategovernance arrangements, risk management practicesand internal controls are in place and operatingeffectively across the wide range of schemes andactivities audited by the Unit”.

Summary of EU Receipts in 2017 and 2018

2017 2018€m €m

EAGF 1,228 1,222EAFRD* 186 401Veterinary Fund 11 10Fisheries (FIFG, EFF, EMFF**) 23 16Other 3 1Total 1,451 1,636

Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine* Includes receipts transmitted to the Department of Rural and Community Development** Advance funding on EMFF not booked to A&A

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Also, as required every five years by the IIA standards,an independent External Quality Assessment (EQA) ofthe IAU was completed in 2018. This review, conductedby BDO, found that the IAU is extremely knowledgeableand well placed to provide an assurance service, and toadd-value to the Departments operations. The Directorof IAU has committed to implementing the reportrecommendations that will enhance the overallassurances provided by the IAU.

The IAU is represented in a number of different auditnetworks, including the Heads of Internal Audit Forum,the EU network of audit bodies and the UKInterdepartmental Internal Audit Group. The Director ofInternal Audit attends the Department’s AccreditationReview Group, Investigations Steering Group and RiskManagement Team meetings and acts as a recipient ofProtected Disclosures.

Risk Management

Potential high impact, far-reaching, high level riskswhich carry potentially very serious consequences forthe Department, the agri-food sector and, in the widercontext, for the public and national interests wereidentified for each business area. These revisedstrategic risks were integrated into the RiskManagement system operating in the Department andform the platform within the system on which allbusiness and operational risks are built.

Risk Management structures in the Department havebeen strengthened, through the recruitment of staff tothe Risk Management Team (Finance Division), thedesignation of a Risk Officer (Finance Division) and there-establishment of the Risk Management Committee.Oversight of Risk Management has been enhanced anda project has commenced to replace the current RiskManagement Database with a system that is morerobust, flexible and easier to use.

CAP Beneficiaries Website

In accordance with EU Regulation 1306/2013 MemberStates must ensure annual ex-post publication of thebeneficiaries of CAP funding. Material must bepublished no later than 31 May each year. TheDepartment published the following information in2018:� The name of the beneficiary, unless the amount of

payment under CAP funds was less than €1,250 in which case the individual was be identified by a code

� The municipality where the beneficiary is resident� The amount of payment corresponding to each

measure (scheme) received by a beneficiary� The nature and description of each measure

The above requirements are directly applicable andbinding in their entirety and the Department does nothave any discretion as to how or what might bepublished.

Prompt Payment

During 2018, a total of 147 invoices were paid outsidethe 30 day period provided for in regulations madeunder the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act, 1997 andincurred late interest penalties. The total interest pluspenalties paid amounted to €8,032. The value of allinvoices that were paid late amounted to €153,385which represents 0.07% of the €205,074,781 totalpayments falling within the terms of the Regulations.The average delay in excess of the 15 day paymentperiod was 30.4 days.

There is also a requirement since 2009 for GovernmentDepartments to pay Irish suppliers within 15 days.Details of this Department’s compliance with thisrequirement are set out in the following table:

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Public Procurement

The Central Procurement Unit was established in 2011and supports the Department in undertakingprocurements, at both strategic and operational level,in accordance with national and EU regulations andguidelines.

Through the dissemination of key policy information,advice and support in the preparation of tenders andother procurement related matters, and also throughthe provision of a training programme across theDepartment, the Unit has sought to ensure bestpractice at operational level so that effective value formoney is achieved in a compliant manner.

At a more strategic level, new Procurement Policy andProcurement Guidelines were developed with the aimof consolidating best practice guidelines and ensuringthat procurement processes are implementedconsistently across the Department. Various SAPprojects on procurement expenditure were initiated tofacilitate improved financial reporting and closeralignment of Department spends with Office ofGovernment Procurement (OGP) procurementcategories. These and other initiatives will continue tobe rolled-out into the future.

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Prompt Payments Jan-Dec 2018Payments made Number Value Percentage

Within 15 days 23,226 €182,494,788 86.15%Within 16 to 30 days 3,405 €22,112,111 12.63%In excess of 30 days* 330 €467,881 1.22%Total 26,961 €205,074,781 100%

* This figure is considerably inflated by invoices where suppliers delayed submitting valid tax clearance certificates in accordance with Revenuerequirements. Late interest does not apply to these cases.

Staff and OrganisationalManagement

HR Strategy

The Department is committed to ensuring that a highlyskilled, motivated and efficient workforce is in place tomeet our on-going business needs. We are alsocommitted to supporting a positive workingenvironment for all our staff that provides equality ofopportunity, career opportunities and an environmentthat supports family friendly systems, and work-lifebalance.

Workforce planning is a key tool in enabling ourorganisation to forecast its current and future staffingneeds. As a management function it drives the fullrange of HR activities including recruitment,deployment, performance, learning and development.

The Department’s Mobility policy was launched at theend of 2016 and advanced throughout 2018. The aim ofthe Mobility policy is to support the business needs ofthe Department while balancing the needs ofindividuals and managers. It enables the Departmentto develop a workforce with a wide knowledge-baseand to offer strong development opportunities for allstaff. Regular movement of staff across the Departmentpromotes a culture of sharing new ideas and bestpractices as well as contributing to a flexible, resilientworkforce that can adapt and react within thechallenging environment in which we operate.

Equality and Diversity

The Department is committed to providing an inclusiveand diverse workplace for all employees which buildsupon our core values and fosters a positive workenvironment where staff can contribute creatively toorganisational goals and reach their full potential.

The Department launched its Diversity, Equality andInclusion policy during 2018. The policy presents ourvision for a workplace where diversity is celebrated andeveryone is treated fairly regardless of their beliefs,status or identity. A workplace where individuals canbring their authentic self to work is one whereindividuals will be more creative, enthusiastic andflourish for the overall benefit of the organisation.

The Department actively supports and promotesequality in all aspects of its activities. The statutoryemployment target for people with disabilities is 3%and in 2018, 3.8% of our employees have declared adisability. Following on from success in previous yearsthe Department participated again in the Job ShadowInitiative, facilitating twelve work placements and alsothree WAM placements under the Willing, Able andMentoring programme. Two of these placements wereextended by three months to enable projects to becompleted.

Training and Development

The Department provided a wide range of Learning andDevelopment opportunities in 2018 in areas such asleadership, management, interpersonal andcommunication skills, finance, IT, and health andsafety. Induction courses now include practical contentof greater relevance to the work carried out in theDepartment. The number of new staff undergoinginduction training was greatly increased in 2018 due tothe increase in recruitment and assignment of stafffrom other Departments.

In addition, the Department delivered a range ofspecialised training for technical, veterinary,engineering, scientific and laboratory staff. TheEuropean Commission Better Training for Safer Food(BTSF) programme of formal and eLearning courseswas utilised by numerous staff who are involved inOfficial controls at policy and implementation level.

Civil Service Awards

The Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards arean annual event established under the Civil ServiceRenewal Plan and aimed at recognising staff excellenceand innovation in the Civil Service. Five projects weresubmitted by the Department to the 2018 Awards, oneof which - Access to the Chinese Market for Irish Beef –was chosen as the winner of the award for ExcellenceThrough Collaboration.

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Asset Management

The Department continued to give effect to the rangeof measures set out in the Property Asset ManagementAction and co-ordinates the responses of State Bodiesunder its aegis. The measures include population ofdata on the State Property Register and participation inProperty Managers Network workshops. TheDepartment continued to consolidate its propertyportfolio seeking out opportunities for shared facilitiesand services with other Public Sector Bodies andidentifying areas for additional savings in theaccommodation area. The Division also focused onrealising savings through the continued use of theOffice of Government Procurement contracts andretendering for other contracts. In addition, improvedbusiness processes made possible by leveraging themanaged print solution and new postal equipmentresulted in additional savings.

Sustainability and Energy Efficiency

The Department is committed to energy efficiency andeffective energy management. It is working with thekey stakeholders to assist in the delivery of theNational target set for the Public Sector of 33% energyefficiency by 2020 as well as 2030 and 2050 carbontargets. The Department has been working with theDCCAE, SEAI, OPW and other key stakeholders on theimplementation of the Energy Efficiency Strategy. In2018, the Department continued its commitment to theSEAI Partnership Programme to best practice in energymanagement across the organisation. TheDepartment also continued its participation in the OPWEnergy Efficiency Programme for public sector bodies –“Optimising Power at Work”. The programme, whichhas been running since 2008, encourages behavioralchange with the aim of identifying and eliminatingwastage, generating savings through staff awarenessand a series of minor works. Services Division isworking closely with OPW, high energy users within theDepartment and bodies under our aegis to establishgood energy management practices across the groupand increase energy efficiencies. Ongoing progresstowards reaching targets is dependent on theavailability of funding to deliver on the capital projectsidentified by Department staff and the OPW.

The Department is working with its internalstakeholders and state agencies to eliminate the use ofsingle use plastics, conserve water and improvebiodiversity in its building portfolio. A number ofactions for 2019 include the formation of “GreenTeams” in Department locations to advocate for asustainable workplace through such actions asremoving desk bins, encouraging reusable food andbeverage containers.

Health and Safety

In 2018, the State Claims Agency (SCA) Enterprise RiskManagement Recognition Awards presented theDepartment’s Health and Safety Section with an awardunder the Collaborative Category for implementing aHearing Surveillance Programme in conjunction withthe Office of the Chief Medical Officer.

The Health and Safety Section organised a Departmentwide Health and Safety Week to run in conjunction withEuropean Week for Health and Safety at Work. Anumber of events ran throughout the week including aFarm Safety Event, various presentations and talks witha focus on ergonomics.

Innovation Week

Innovation is central to Government policy fordevelopment of the Public Service. “Innovation for OurFuture” is one of three key pillars on which Our PublicService 2020 is built. The Public Service LeadershipBoard established an action team of sectoral experts oninnovation. Their role is to challenge the status quoacross the public service and to promote realisation ofthe vision that, by 2020, the culture within the publicservice will be one that supports and encouragesinnovation among public service employees, optimisespublic service delivery and values client satisfaction inaccessing public services.

With a view to encouraging staff to think closely aboutissues and to promote the generation of ideas at alllevels the Department launched an Innovation Week toencourage staff, to use their unique insight andperspectives on issues affecting service delivery, to putforward alternative ideas on how things might be donebetter so as to deliver positive change in how theDepartment provides its services.

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Farm Safety 2018

Farm safety is one of the most important issues facingfarming today. Statistics show that accidents on farmscause more workplace deaths than all otheroccupations combined. Between 2009 and 2018 therewere 207 fatal accidents on farms. In 2018, there were15 fatal farm accidents, with 10 of these accidentsoccurring to farmers aged 65 or over.

While the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is theorganisation with primary responsibility for securinghealth and safety at work, the Department has taken anumber of steps over recent years, in tandem withsome of the other State and industry organisations, toraise awareness of the problem and educate farmersand their families on the dangers of working in thisindustry.

Farm safety also forms an integral part of all buildingspecifications drawn up by the Department. Thesespecifications set out the minimum standard to whichall work must be completed and include safety relatedrequirements such as, all slurry agitation points beingexternal and guidelines on the safe agitation of slurry.These specifications are freely available to all farmers.

In addition, a mandatory Health and Safety element isincluded in the Knowledge Transfer Programme underthe 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme. Thesegroups directly engage with farmer participants on theimportant issue of farm safety. Each of approx 18,900farmers completed a farm health and safetycomponent for the one to one Farm Improvement Plancompleted with their approved facilitator for both YearOne and Year Two. This builds on the discussions in theYear One meetings on the topic of Health and Safetythat each of the approximately 1,100 KnowledgeTransfer Groups was required to hold.

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Developing IT Cabability

Major ICT Developments in 2018

The Department is critically dependent on informationand communication technology (ICT) for the delivery ofits schemes and services. The major ICT developmentsin 2018 included the following:

IT Infrastructure

The Department provides full ICT infrastructuresupport for all Department staff including email, DataFile Sharing (DFS), network support, telephony(including mobile telephony), remote access, websitehosting, server support, desktop productivity software,internet access and anti-virus. It also makes extensiveuse of virtualisation and data storage technologies.

Cyber Security

In response to a global increase in the threat ofmalware and computer hacking, the Department hasenhanced its computer security capability by setting upa team dedicated to cyber security.

ICT Shared Services

In line with the Public Service ICT Strategy, theDepartment continues its provision of ICTinfrastructure shared services during 2018 whichincludes:

� Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE): Full ICT infrastructure support is provided in DCCAE, including hosting of various DCCAE and GSI websites.

� Department of the Taoiseach (DoT): This Department continued to provide a network support to Department of the Taoiseach. The bulk of phone services in DoT are now provided via a Department-hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system, which is managed internally by our ICT staff.

� Payroll Shared Service (Department of Public Expenditure and Reform): This Department continues to provide ongoing support, including server maintenance and security for the Government’s central payroll facility implemented in 2014. This system now pays the majority of current and former civil servants.

� Department of Health (DoH), and Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA): Department agreed to provide phone services to DoH and DCYA in Q2 2018 via the Department-hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system, which will be managed internally by our ICT staff.

� Shared services are provided for the Department’s Non-Commercial State Sponsored Bodies (NCSSBs) at various levels, such as:� Full ICT email, DFS and network support for

the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and provision of software development and maintenance of catch and inspection software systems.

� Data centre hosting for Teagasc.

Payment Schemes

The Department continued to maintain and enhanceour computer systems which support our variousschemes throughout 2018 as follows:

� Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)� Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme

(GLAS) � Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) � Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes

(TAMS II) � Knowledge Transfer Schemes (KT) � Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) � Organic Farming Scheme (OFS)� Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS) � Young Farmers Scheme (YFS)� Protein Aid� De Minimis Schemes

� BVD Compensation (beef)� BVD Compensation (dairy)� Fodder Measure For Tillage Farmers 2018� Fodder Transport Support Measure� Kerry Purebred Cattle Scheme� Sheep EID Tag Subsidy� Weather Related Crop Loss Support Measure

2017

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GLAS functionality to pay facilitators for GLAS Trainingwas implemented in Q1, 2018.

New online facilities were also developed andlaunched in March 2018 enabling Entitlement TransferFacilitators to assist farmers to trade their BPSentitlements. 17,800 Transfer applications (100%online) were received by the closing date of 15 May2018.

New TAMS schemes functionality to deliver YoungFarmer requirements was developed in 2018.Functionality to deliver new investment types such asmeal bins and Organic Capital Investment Scheme(OCIS) investments were also added during the year.

Work was also completed which enabled farmers tosubmit new applicants for Organic Farm Scheme (OFS).

Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)

The Department continued to enhance its onlinefacilities to complement the implementation of 100%online applications for BPS and other area-basedschemes in 2018. The number of BPS applications filedonline, through BPS iNet, in 2018 increased from114,000 cases to approx 130,000 cases. The‘Preliminary Check’ facility also advised farmers ofcertain errors which could be corrected withoutpenalty and over 10,000 availed of this.

Advance payments began on 16th October withbalancing payments made in the first week inDecember. The total amount issued in respect of 2018BPS claims is now over €1.174 billion to 123,028farmers.

Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC)

117,437 farmers applied for this scheme in 2018. All ofthese applications applied online by way of their BPSapplication. First payments for 2018 issued inSeptember, on schedule.

Knowledge Transfer Schemes (KT)

The KT Scheme is a fully online scheme and threeonline systems were developed to administer thisscheme. A dedicated online system for scheduling andreporting attendance at meetings and national eventstogether with two purpose built online systems for thefarm Improvement Plan used by advisors and theAnimal Health Measures used by vets. In 2018 over20,000 individual participant payments issued inrelation to Year One and Year Two of the scheme

Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS)

Year 2 of the Sheep Welfare Scheme opened inFebruary 2018. Advance payments under year 2 of thescheme commenced in November 2018 with paymentof €15.14 million issuing to 18,607 applicants.

Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS)Rebuild

The Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) is theDepartment’s spatial database. It contains over 1.1million polygons/parcels representing the landholdings of over 130,000 farmers. The system was builton initial digitising of paper maps and was completedin 1995 for the original area-aid scheme. These parcelshave been updated and modified on a continual basissince then. The current LPIS system facilitates theadministration of payments to farmers under a range ofschemes. However, its underlying database/ITinfrastructure is now dated, and is in need of a majorupdate.

The objective of the LPIS Rebuild project is to developa new LPIS that is up-to-date, compatible with bestavailable technologies, fully functional and compliantwith regulatory requirements. The new system will beof the standard required for the efficient delivery of EUfunded schemes into the future, and will provide anexcellent platform to add value to Department’s servicedelivery channels.

As part of the LPIS Rebuild project, existing LPIS datawill be transformed to the Ordnance Survey Ireland(OSi) Prime 2 spatial database. Prime 2 was launched in2015, and is the most up to date and authoritative

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database of spatial information in Ireland. It is thenational mapping standard which allows geographicobjects such as land parcels, buildings and roads etc. tobe uniquely identified and referenced. The Prime 2database is a seamless digital database for the entirecountry.

The latest phase of this modernisation is nowunderway, and the new LPIS will go live for one countyin early 2019. It is expected that the remainder of thecountry will go live on a phased basis, with all countiestransformed by 2021.

Along with the LPIS Rebuild project new LPIS imageryis received annually and in accordance with EURegulations is reviewed to identify any ineligiblefeatures which may be contained within LPIS parcels.

DeMinimis Schemes

Facilities for payment of the following schemes wereprovided:

� Fodder Transport Support Measure� Fodder Import Support Measure� Fodder Import Support Measure Autumn 2018� Fodder Tillage Incentive Measure 2018

Inspections

The Agriculture Field Inspection and Testing (AFIT)system is a shared business system allowing for thecoordinated allocation, scheduling, tracking, dataentry of inspections and any associated penaltycalculations. The system is available nationwide andcurrently caters for over 120 different inspection typesincluding animal welfare, scheme, ante-mortem infactories, Dairy Hygiene inspections and veterinaryplant health inspections. New functionality wasdeveloped to reduce further the paper processes in thefield using ruggedised tough-books. There was anincreased use of GPS devices to ensure more accuratemeasuring of land parcels.

Land Management

The Generic Land Management system (GLAM) is a newsystem being developed to enable the recording ofland management plans. Such plans are/will berequired by a number of locally led schemes under theRDP 2014-2020. Functionality to support the HenHarrier and Burren schemes is now live.

Forestry (iFORIS)

The iFORIS system provides functionality for theprocessing of all applications for grant aid for forestry.In 2018 development work included:-

� The provision of online application processes for Form 1 and Form 2 claims.

� Functionality to cater for Mid-term Review Schemesincluding Woodland Improvement, Deer Fencing and Hare Fencing.

Online Services/Promotions

Several promotion activities were conducted in 2018 tohighlight the benefits of the Department’s onlineservices portal www.agfood.ie., and the number offarmers registered to use online services continued toincrease. At year end, some 130,000 farmers wereregistered for agfood services either as individuals orthrough their agents, representing almost 100% of allfarmers (BPS applicants).

SMS Messaging offers a cost effective and efficientmeans of communication to alert farmers and otherclients on topics of interest including various schemeclosure dates, payment dates, etc. In total, 1,836,303text messages issued to farmers and other customers in2018 on a wide range of issues.

At end of 2018, over 133,000 clients (including farmers)had provided their mobile phone numbers to theDepartment and had also permitted use of thosenumbers for the Department messages and alerts. Transactional SMS - enables the automated electronicbased linking of farmers to their agents for variousschemes, using agfood.ie and interactive SMS. Thisresulted in the successful linking of more than 8,263farmers to agents and farmers to partners, saving time

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and administrative burden for farmers, agents and theDepartment. There were 121,488 notifications also tocustomers, including BPS Notifications and AIM Tagenquiry replies etc.

Websites

During 2018, further improvements were made to theDepartments’ website www.agriculture.gov.ie. Newmobile friendly designs were implemented on severalsub-sites, and a review of the structure and content ofthe main agriculture website continued in order toimprove the organisation of information on the websiteto make it more readily accessible for readers andvisitors.

A new website www.marketaccess.ie was launched toassist exporters by listing the various market accessrequirements that must be met to successfully exportgoods to certain countries.

Financial Management System – SAP

The Department’s SAP Financial Management Systemis a key component of ensuring that the Departmentmaintains its Accredited EU Paying Agency Status. Themain system enhancements and business processimprovements implemented during 2018 include - � Paperless Remittance Advice solution enabled with

35,000 farmers removed from receiving paper-based notifications

� A new reporting suite developed to facilitate the reconciliation of the Fisheries Harbour Fund

� GDPR – SAP solutions developed to facilitate the masking of bank account data and to restrict access to scanned invoice and bank mandate documents

� SAP technical upgrade projects completed:� SAP software Hot Pack /Support pack � Oracle RDBMS

� Revised and enhanced internal purchasing controls introduced

� The Collections Management solution was further enhanced and implemented into new business units

During 2018, the SAP system processed over onemillion payments to farmers/vendors. Over 30,000purchase orders were created for goods/servicesreceived and some 35,000 sales invoices were issuedfor services provided.

Access to and use of the Financial Self Service (FSS)application that allows farmer/vendor clients to viewtheir accounting information on-line and print aStatement/Remittance advice continued to increaseduring 2018. Over 53,000 farmers/vendors hadaccessed the FSS application by the end of 2018.

The Integrated Fisheries InformationSystem (IFIS)

IFIS is the principal computer system to support themanagement and control of sea fishing activities andthe implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy(CFP). It includes a number of related systemsincluding the Electronic Recording System (ERS), anon-vessel system (ieCatch), an Inspectors Module(ieInspect) and a customer portal (fishingnet.ie).

As part of the new CFP arrangements the EuropeanMaritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) programme hasbeen agreed and runs for the life of current CFP to2020. The EMFF programme includes significantcomputer systems development over this period tosupport monitoring, control and management of seafishing activity.

The main new services implemented in 2018 included –

� A quota balancing system for Pelagic Fisheries. This system facilitates the adjustment of future quota allocations to address where a vessel has exceeded its allocated quota.

� Sales notes Portal – a new online portal for the transmission of sales notes.

� Updates to the technical format for the exchange of information as required under EU Regulation.

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Small Systems Support

During 2018, the small systems area was furtherextended and now provides software development andmaintenance services for almost 70 small systemsacross a range of technologies including, MicrosoftAccess, Biztalk, .Net, and Lotus Notes. These systemssupport important business functions across manydivisions of the Department and this centralizedinitiative ensures full lifecycle ICT support for thesesystems.

The Enterprise Programme Management Office (EPMO)was established in Spring 2018. Its role is to supportinternal Business Divisions to align their Programmesand Projects to the Strategic Objectives, Priorities andBusiness Planning processes of the Department. TheEPMO’s objectives are being achieved by:

� Developing unified project management principles across the Department.

� Supporting a Learning and Development programme.

� Providing Guidance and Advice, including mentoring, tools and templates.

� Monitoring and Reporting on strategic project delivery across the Department.

Currently the EPMO is supporting the LaboratoriesProgramme, The Food Safety and AuthenticityProgramme and approximately 10 individual projectsdrawn from various Divisions throughout theDepartment.

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Corporate Affairs

Public Sector Duty

Under the Irish Human Rights and EqualityCommission Act, 2014, all public bodies are statutorilyobliged to have regard to human rights and equalityissues in the performance of their functions.

In this regard the Department of Agriculture, Food andthe Marine has incorporated the following values in itsStatement of Strategy 2016 – 2019:

� A strong commitment to diversity, gender equality and the fair and equal treatment of all,

� a deep-rooted public service ethos of independence, integrity and impartiality.

The Department has established a Working Group atsenior level which works on an assessment of humanrights and equality issues relevant to its functions.

Protected Disclosures Act 2014

One protected disclosure was made in 2018. Althoughtwo other submissions which cited the ProtectedDisclosures process were received, one was found notto be a protected disclosure and the other was inrespect of an agency to which, with the agreement ofthe discloser, the issue was transferred.

Inheritance Enquiry Unit

The Inheritance Enquiry Unit continues to advise andassist the families and legal representatives ofdeceased farmers in the process of transferringagricultural schemes and the issuing of outstandingpayments. In 2018, it responded to requests forassistance from over 1,621 families and released a totalof €13.5m in payments to the estates of deceasedfarmers.

Service to Assist Bereaved Farm Families

The Department provides a service to assist bereavedfarm families who have suffered a sudden loss and whomay not have experience in dealing with the type ofday-to-day issues that might bring them into contactwith the Department in relation to schemes andservices.

Customer Service

Thirty customer service complaints were received bythe Department’s Quality Service Unit in 2018 and wereexamined and responded to in line with Department’scustomer complaints procedure. This represents a 30%decrease in complaints compared to 2017.

Office of the Ombudsman

The Department responded to a total of 45 individualcases from the Office of the Ombudsman in 2018, anincrease of 5% compared to the previous year.

Freedom of Information (FOI)

A total of 535 FOI applications were received during2018. This represents a 37% increase compared to2017.

Access to Information on the Environment(AIE) Regulations

A total of 59 Environmental Information Requests werereceived under AIE Regulations in 2018, an increase of181% from the 21 received the previous year.

Farmers' Charter of Rights

The Farmers' Charter of Rights 2015-2020 sets outspecific delivery targets to our farmer customers andcovers the various schemes operated by theDepartment. The Farmers' Charter continues ourcommitment to the principles of Quality CustomerService set out in our Customer Charter and CustomerAction Plan 2015 - 2020.

Progress under the Charter is overseen by a monitoringcommittee under an independent chairperson. Thecommittee is comprised of representatives of farmorganisations and Department of Agriculture, Food andthe Marine staff. The monitoring committee met onfour occasions in 2018.

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Corporate Affairs

The Agriculture Appeals Office

The Agriculture Appeals Office provides a free,independent, statutory appeals service to farmers whoare dissatisfied with decisions in relation to theirentitlements under the schemes set out in theSchedule to the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001. TheOffice’s Annual Reports are on the website:www.agriappeals.gov.ie

In 2018, the Office received 556 appeals, a decrease of12.8% on 2017. 520 cases were closed in 2018 whichincluded appeals outstanding from previous years. Asummary of the outcome of cases received anddecided in 2018 is as follows:

Outcome of appeals closed in 2018

Appeals Allowed, 39%Partially Allowed or Revised by the DepartmentAppeals Withdrawn, 16%Invalid and Out of TimeDisallowed 45%

Review of the Agriculture Appeals Act, 2001

The Report on the Review of the Act was published in2018 and was the subject of consultation withstakeholders. The recommendations are currentlyunder consideration by the Department, particularlywith regard to legislative changes that may berequired.

Forestry Licence Appeals service

In 2018, the Minister established a Forestry AppealsCommittee (FAC) to consider appeals against decisionsby the Department with regard to applications forforestry licences. Appeals Officers were, in 2018,appointed by the Minister to be members of the FACand the full administration functions and secretariatsupport for the FAC appeals process were assigned tothe Agriculture Appeals Office. A total of 231 forestrylicence appeals were received by the Office by the endof 2018.

COMMUNICATIONS UNIT

Press and Information Office

The Press and Information Office is responsible forissuing press releases on behalf of the Department,dealing with queries received from the media as well asgeneral information queries.

In 2018, 268 Press Releases and DepartmentStatements were issued by the Press Office and over1,200 different media queries were processed. In theregion of 2,500 general queries received via theDepartment’s [email protected] mailbox werealso processed. The Press Office led on a number ofnationwide communication campaigns utilising printand online press, radio and social media to promotethe various schemes and services the Departmentadministers.

Public interaction with the Department’s Twitteraccount continued to increase in 2018 with a 28%increase in twitter followers from 2017. Social mediawas used to publicise new and existing schemes,promote and highlight the work of the Department,work of the Minister and the Minister of State, staffcontributions at agri-food related conferences andevents and to issue Press Releases and DepartmentStatements.

DATA MANAGEMENT

Information Security

The Department was successfully accredited with ISO27001:2013 Information Security certification in August2016 and successfully maintained this certification in2018 via bi-annual audits. Over 1,100 staff receivedInformation Security awareness training in 2018, toupdate staff with regards to the security and protectionof the Department’s data and to ensure compliancewith the ISO 27001 standard is understood andacknowledged.

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Corporate Affairs

Data Protection

A total of 27 Subject Access Requests were received in2018 under Section 4 of the Data Protection Acts, andunder Article 15 of the General Data ProtectionRegulation (GDPR), an increase of 17% on the previousyear.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) cameinto force on 25 May 2018. This EU Regulationenhances individuals’ privacy rights and imposessignificant additional obligations on all organisationsthat process personal data. In accordance with theGDPR legislation, the Department assigned a DataProtection Officer to the organization in April 2018. TheData Protection Unit brought together a GDPR ProjectGroup within the Department with the aim ofexamining this Regulation, identifying the implicationsfor the Department and putting in place policies,practices, systems and guidelines to ensure theDepartment meets its compliance requirements. Thegroup has wide representation from key Divisionsacross the Department. This GDPR Project Group metnine times in 2018 and continued its work to ensure ahigh level of compliance with the Regulation.

A data protection awareness programme wasintroduced in 2018 which included an on-line trainingcourse for all staff.

Records Management System

Work began in 2018 to formally put in place a projectplan and structure to progress the implementation of astandardised records management policy andinfrastructure in the Department (eDocs).

Informational sessions around the new recordsmanagement system were delivered to over 900Department staff in offices around the country. Thisassisted in both informing staff of eDocs and to gainearly feedback from staff on how data managementpractices in their areas will be affected by the adoptionof a formal records management system in 2019.

Customer Relationship Management

A new Customer Relationship Management (CRM)project commenced in Q4 2018. This new system isseeking to integrate the current standalone call centreswhich operate in specific areas across the Department.Records indicate the Department receives in excess of200,000 voice calls annually in the areas of FarmScheme supports and Animal Management. This newsystem will seek to streamline these interactions usingcustomised technology resulting in a more enhancedcustomer experience. The project will also provideadditional channels of customer support including a24/7 online query functionality.

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Appendix 1Organsation of the Department

Organisation of the Department as at 1 April 2019

The senior management team is the ManagementBoard. This is headed by Brendan Gleeson, SecretaryGeneral and comprises eight Assistant SecretariesGeneral/Directors, the Chief Veterinary Officer, theDeputy Chief Veterinary Officer, the Chief Inspector,and the Director of Laboratory Services.

MAC/Director

Cecil BeamishSeafood andMarine

Martin BlakeChief VeterinaryOfficer

Deputy

Michael SheahanDirector ofOperations

Function

Aquaculture & ForeshoreManagement

Marine Programmes

Marine Engineering

Sea Fisheries Administration

Seafood Policy and Development

Animal Health & Welfare

NDCC/Contingency Response:Animal Health International

Business Systems Co-ordination& Development

Veterinary Public HealthImplementation

Veterinary Northern AreaManagement Team

Veterinary Southern AreaManagement Team

Investigations Division

ERAD, Veterinary Medicines, andVeterinary Council of Ireland

Ruminant Animal Health & ERAD,Premises Registration & Animal ID

Head of Division

John Quinlan

Paschal Hayes

Noel Clancy

Kevin Moriarty

Josephine Kelly

Dermot Murphy

Hazel Sheridan

Stephen Fitzpatrick

Peter Maher

Thomas McTague

Eilis O’Brien

Tim Drea

Colm Forde

Eoin Ryan

Location

Clonakilty

Clonakilty

Clonakilty

Clonakilty

Clonakilty

Dublin

Dublin

Dublin

Dublin

Regions

Regions

Backweston

Backweston

Backweston

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MAC/Director

Donal SamminDirector ofLaboratories

Bill CallananChief Inspector

Deputy

Paula Barry-WalshVPHIS DeputyChief VeterinaryOfficer

James ChoiseulHead ofAgricultural Labs

Donal ColemanDirector

Function

Surveillance, Animal By-Productsand TSEs

Animal Welfare, Animal Meds &AMR

Trade & Vet Certification

Animal Identification &Movement

Milk & Meat Hygiene & Animal By-Products

Veterinary Public Health Policy

Bacteriology

Dairy Science Labs

Pathology

Pesticides, Seed Testing & PlantHealth

Regional Veterinary Labs & BloodTesting Lab

Veterinary Public HealthRegulatory Laboratory

Virology

Climate Change & BioenergyPolicy

Livestock Breeding, Production &Trade

Nitrates, Biodiversity &Engineering

Research, Food & Codex

Pesticides Controls

Pesticides Registration

Head of Division

Paul Corkery

Robert Doyle

Dave Nolan

Martin Farrell

Bernie Brennan

Joe O’Flaherty

vacant

vacant

John Moriarty

AnnMarie Dillon

Michael Casey

MontserratGutierrez

Ronan O’Neill

Edwina Love

Gerry Greally

Jack Nolan

Richard Howell

Tom Medlycott

Aidan Moody

Location

Backweston

Backweston

Dublin

Backweston

Portlaoise

Dublin

Backweston

Backweston

Backweston

Backweston

Backweston

Backweston

Backweston

Portlaoise

Portlaoise, Cavan

Wexford,Portlaoise

Dublin

Backweston

Backweston

114


MAC/Director

Paul SavageInternational &Brexit

SineadMcPhillipsAgri-FoodStrategy

Eilis O’ConnellHR & CorporateCommunications

Deputy Function

Plant Health & Horticulture

Feedstuffs, Fertilisers, Grain andPoultry

Crops Evaluation & Certification

EU Division

Brexit & International Trade

CAP Rural Development

Permanent RepresentationBrussels

Agricultural Counsellors

Agricultural Attachés

Food Industry Development

Meat & Milk Policy

Economics & Planning

Dairy Controls

Services, Health & Safety,Management Services

Corporate Affairs, F.O.I, Minister’sOffice

Human Resources

Legal Services

Data Management

Communications

Head of Division

Barry Delany

Sheila Nolan

Michael Moloney

Sharon Murphy

Louise Byrne

Corina Roe

Breffini Carpenter

Damien Flynn

Gráinne Mulligan

Maria Dunne

Seán Bell

Nicholas Finnerty

Heber McMahon

Padraig McMahon

Kevin Galligan

John Kinsella

Darren Murray

Meg Laffan

Location

Backweston

Backweston

Backweston

Dublin

Dublin

Dublin

Brussels

London

Dublin

Dublin

Dublin

Dublin

Dublin,Portlaoise

Dublin,Portlaoise

Dublin,Portlaoise

Dublin, Cavan

Dublin

Dublin

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MAC/Director

Sean KeeveyInformationManagementTechnology

Kevin SmythGovernance

Colm HayesRuralDevelopment

Paul DillonDirect Payments

Deputy Function

IMT Animal, Customer, Financials& Fisheries Systems

IMT Direct Farm Payment Systems

IMT Infrastructure

IMT Co-ordination & PMO

Accounts

Agriculture Appeals

Finance Division & CentralProcurement Unit

Internal Audit Group

Horse & Greyhound Racing &Teagasc

Agricultural Environment &Structures

Forest Service

Forest SectorDevelopment/COFORD

Forest Service Inspectorate

Organics, Market Supports &Locally Led

Agri Environment & On FarmInvestment

BPS (Inspections; FinancialControl; Policy Co-ordination

Basic Payment Scheme (Operations)

CAP Entitlements & FinancialControls

Direct Payments Integrated Controls

Head of Division

Joe Hanly

Alan King

Seán Connolly

Louise Jevens

Colm McKiernan

Angela Robinson

Martin Crowley

Gordon Conroy

Rebecca Chapman

Eoin O’Brien

Patricia Kelly

Fergus Moore

Seamus Dunne

Bridgeena Nolan

Miriam Cadwell

Paul McKiernan

Fintan O’Brien

Francis Morrin

Thomas Keating

Location

Dublin,Portlaoise,Backweston

Dublin, Portlaoise

Dublin

Dublin

Cavan

Portlaoise

Dublin, Portlaoise

Dublin, Portlaoise

DublinCavan

Wexford

Wexford

Dublin

Dublin

Wexford

Wexford

Portlaoise

Portlaoise

Portlaoise

Dublin

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Appendix BState Bodies

Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board Kilminchy Court Dublin Road PortlaoiseCo. LaoisR32 DTW5Tel: 057 863 1912Email: [email protected]

This is an independent board which handles theappeals process for aquaculture licensing. All Boardmembers are engaged on a part-time basis. A personaggrieved by a decision of the Minister on anapplication for an aquaculture licence or by therevocation or amendment of an aquaculture licencemay, make an appeal to the Board in writing withinone month of the publication or notification of such adecision, revocation or amendment.

Bord Bia Clanwilliam Court Lower Mount StreetDublin 2 D02 A344Tel: 01 668 5155 Website: www.bordbia.ie

Bord Bia promotes, assists and develops the marketingof Irish food including drink, seafood and livestock andthe production, marketing and consumption ofhorticultural produce.

It operates quality assurance schemes for beef, porkand bacon, horticultural and egg products. In responseto growing demand from international customers forquality assured, sustainable food and drink products,Bord Bia developed Origin Green – a world-first,nationwide sustainability programme for the entireIrish food and drink industry.

With its headquarters in Dublin, Bord Bia has a networkof overseas offices in Amsterdam, Dubai, Dusseldorf,London, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, New York, Paris,Shanghai (Asia Office), Singapore, Stockholm andWarsaw.

Bord Iascaigh Mhara Crofton Road Dun LaoghaireCo. DublinA96 E5AO Tel: 01 214 4100 Website: www.bim.ie

Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Irish Sea FisheriesBoard, is the Irish State agency with responsibility fordeveloping sustainable Irish Sea Fishing andAquaculture industries. BIM was established under theSea Fisheries Act 1952. BIM provides a range of servicesincluding advisory, financial, technical, marketing andtraining supports to all sectors of the Irish seafoodindustry. BIM’s primary objective is to expand thevolume, quality and value of output from the seafishand aquaculture sectors by focusing on theopportunities for growth in these sectors whilepromoting responsible environmental practices.

Bord na gCon Green ParkDock RoadLimerick

V94 Y17XTel: 061 448000Website: www.igb.ie

Bord na gCon is a commercial state body, establishedunder the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly tocontrol greyhound racing and to improve and developthe greyhound industry. Bord na gCon regulates allaspects of greyhound racing in Ireland including thelicensing of the different tracks, the issuing of permitsto officials, bookmakers, trainers and theimplementation of the rules of racing.

117


Coillte CGA The Irish Forestry Board Newtownmountkennedy Co Wicklow A63 DN25Tel: 01 201 1111 Website: www.coillte.ie

Coillte CGA is a private limited company, whichoperates in forestry and related activities on acommercial basis. The company is co-owned by theMinister for Public Expenditure and Reform and theMinister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Thecompany was established under the Forestry Act, 1988which sets out its objectives and duties.

Horse Racing IrelandBallymanyThe Curragh Co KildareR56 XE37Tel: 045 455455Website: www.hri.ie

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body,established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act2001. Horse Racing Ireland is the national authority forhorse racing in Ireland and is responsible for the overalladministration, promotion and development of theindustry.

Irish National Stud Company Ltd Tully KildareR51 KX25Tel: 045 521251 Website: www.irish-national-stud.ie

The Irish National Stud Co. Ltd keeps a range of topclass stallions with a view to making quality bloodlinesavailable to the thoroughbred horse industry inIreland. The Japanese Gardens and St. Fiachra’sGarden, both of which are located on the grounds ofthe Stud, plus the opportunity for visitors to view thehorses standing at the Stud have proven to be a majortourist attraction through the years. The Stud alsoengages in farming activities and trains people foremployment in the bloodstock sector.

Marine Institute RinvilleOranmoreCo. GalwayH91 R673Tel: 091 387200 Website: www.marine.ie

The Marine Institute (MI) is the national agency withresponsibility for Marine Research, TechnologyDevelopment and Innovation (RTDI). The Institute wasestablished under the 1991 Marine Institute Act. Therole of the MI is to promote the sustainabledevelopment of marine industry through strategicfunding programmes and essential scientific servicesthat safeguard the marine environment throughresearch and environmental monitoring. The Instituteundertakes and co-ordinates marine research anddevelopment that has the potential to promoteeconomic development, create employment andprotect the marine environment.

National Milk Agency Holly Park Studio Holly Park AvenueBlackrockCo. DublinA94 R6F7Tel: 01 660 3396 Website: www.nationalmilkagency.ie

The National Milk Agency was established in 1994under the Milk (Regulation of Supply) Act, 1994 and isresponsible for the regulation of the supply of milk forliquid consumption throughout the State. It is fundedby means of a statutory levy on milk used for liquidconsumption.

The chairman of the Agency is appointed by theMinister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Fivemembers of the Agency are directly elected byregistered producers while the other members areappointed by the Minister following nominations fromdesignated organisations.

118


Teagasc Agriculture and Food Development Authority Oak Park CarlowR93 XE12Tel: 059 917 0200 Website: www.teagasc.ie

Teagasc – the Agriculture and Food DevelopmentAuthority – is the national body providing integratedresearch, advisory and training services to theagriculture and food industry and rural communities.Established under the Agriculture (Research, Trainingand Advice) Act 1988, its mission is to support science-based innovation in the agri-food sector and wider bio-economy so as to underpin profitability,competitiveness and sustainability. It is governed by aneleven-member Authority appointed by the Minister forAgriculture, Food & the Marine and has representativesfrom the farming organisations, the food industry, theuniversities, the Department of Agriculture, Food andthe Marine and Teagasc staff.

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) National Seafood CentreClonakiltyCo. CorkP85 TX47Tel: 023 885 9300Website: www.sfpa.ie

The SFPA is the statutory authority responsible for theenforcement of sea-fisheries protection and seafoodsafety legislation in Ireland and throughout Ireland’sexclusive fishing limits. It was established on 1 January2007 under the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime JurisdictionAct 2006 and its principal responsibilities are to enforceSea Fisheries legislation and Seafood Safety legislationfairly and consistently and to ensure that the marinefish and shellfish resources from the waters aroundIreland are managed sustainably and may beconsumed safely for the long term benefit of all.

Veterinary Council of Ireland53 Landsdowne Road BallsbridgeDublin 4

D04 NY29Tel: 01 668 4402Website: www.vci.ie

The Veterinary Council of Ireland which regulates thepractice of veterinary medicine was established on 1January 2006 under section 11 of the VeterinaryPractice Act 2005. It has 19 members reflectinginterests such as education, animal welfare, consumersand food safety and is balance between veterinariansand others. The principal function of the Council is toregulate and manage the practice of veterinarymedicine and veterinary nursing in the State in thepublic interest.

119

Appendix CVOTE 30 – 2018

€000

Administration

237,444i SALARIES, WAGES AND ALLOWANCES 172,550ii TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE 8,624iii TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT AND INCIDENTAL EXPENSES 5,102iv POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES .... 4,713v OFFICE EQUIPMENT AND EXTERNAL IT SERVICES 33,599vi OFFICE PREMISES EXPENSES 5,972vii CONSULTANCY SERVICES AND VALUE FOR MONEY AND POLICY REVIEWS 129viii SUPPLEMENTARY MEASURES TO PROTECT THE FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF THE EU 567ix LABORATORY SERVICES 6,208

A. Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health and Animal Welfare 86,962

A.3 Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health and Animal Welfare 86,962TB & Bruc. Eradication 36,656TVIs Meat Inspection 21,091Fallen Animals Scheme 8,290National Beef Assurance Current 5,448Vet. Testing & Research 4,965Animal Welfare incl. Control of Horses 3,591Oth. Animals Dis. Measures 2,663Pesticide / Plant Protect 1,087BSE Comp. & Related Costs and Testing 1,112Scrapie 256Other 1,803

B. Farm/Sector Support and Controls 752,470

B.3 Agri-environmental Schemes 256,860GLAS 231,978Agri Envir Scheme 7,445Organic Farming Scheme 10,499Locally Led Agri-Environment Schemes 4,159REPS -19Other 2,798

B.4 Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme 228,666

B.5 Development of Agriculture and Food (Farm) 72,510Targeted Agricultural Measures (RDP.SCHEMES) 66,751Horticulture Indust. 4,913Organic Sect 846Other 0

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€000

B.6 Beef Data & Genomics Programme 47,451

B.7 Knowledge Transfer 21,665

B.8 Animal Welfare Scheme for Sheep 17,650

B.9 Early Retirement Scheme 830

B.10 Forestry and Bio Energy 94,509Afforestation 86,381Forestry Support Scheme (current 1060 capital 5881) 7,468Forestry Development 475Other 185

B.11 Control & Other Support Scheme Costs 9,305

B.12 Other Schemes 3,024

C. Policy and Strategy 350,708

C.3 Research Quality & Certification 27,747Quality Assurance Scheme 6,414R&D in the Food Sector 8,682Research Stimulus Fund 6,794Forestry Research 1,126Livestock Breeding 1,470Cattle Breeding Auth. 1,040Equine Breeding 843Improvement of Livestock 27Other 1,352

C.4 Development and Promotion of Agriculture and Food (Non Farm) 8,839Marketing & Processing 6,318Food & Hort. Promotion Prog. 1,911Other 610

C.5 Teagasc Grant 133,082

C.6 An Bord Bia Grant 40,383

C.7 Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund 80,000Horse Racing Ireland 64,000Bord ná gCon 16,000

C.8 Cedra Rural Innovation & Development Fund 1,501

121


€000

C.9 Food and Donations – World Food Programme 19,000

C.10 Other Services 25,000Brexit Loan Response SchemeInternational Cooperation 15,156General Legal Expenses 5,096Non-Thoroughbred Hrse. Ind. 1,097Misc. Pension Payments 2,500Rur. Dev. Technical Assist 1,772Other capital Johnstown Castle 2,500Other 812

D. Seafood Sector 118,571

D.3 Fisheries 35,195Dev. & Upgrading of Harbours for Fisheries Capital 24,589Seafood Development Programme 7,913Environmental Compliance 1,970Other 723

D.4 Marine Institute Grant 32,239

D.5 Bord Iascaigh Mhara Grant 31,134

D.6 Sea Fisheries Protection Authority 10,302

D.7 Haulbowline Remediation Project 9,701

Total Gross Voted Expenditure 1,546,175

Receipts

Appropriations in Aid -471,782

122


€000

Receipts

Appropriations in Aid -471,782

E.1 Recoupment of Salaries, etc. of officers on loan to outside bodies -556

E.2 Forfeited Deposits & Securities under EU intervention, export refund etc. -9

E.3 Refunds from Veterinary Fees for inspection at poultry and other meat plants -19,804

E.4 Receipts from Veterinary Fees for Live Exports -666

E.5 Receipts from fees for dairy premises inspection services -7,405

E.6 Receipts from Sale of Vaccines, livestock, farm produce, etc. -671at Veterinary Research Laboratory and farm at Abbotstown; recoupment of quarantine expenses at Spike Island

E.7 Receipts from Seed Testing fees, certification fees, licensing fees, pesticides, -3,155registration fees, etc. and receipts from Backweston Farm

E.8 Receipts from farmer contributions towards the cost of eradicating bovine disease -7,508

E.9 Land Commission receipts -285

E.10 Other Receipts -2,807

EU Co Funding Transfers

E.11 Market Intervention expenses and financing costs for other FEOGA(Guarantee) -1,239section measures

E.12 Intervention Stock Losses, etc. -880

E.13 EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development) -387,280

E.14 Veterinary Fund -10,274

E.15 Other Guarantee Receipts from EU (Agriculture) -36

123


€000

Fisheries Related Receipts

E.16 Proceeds of Fines and Forfeitures in respect of Sea Fisheries -7

E.17 Receipts under the 1933 Foreshore Act and the 1954 State Property Act -151

E.18 EU Recoupment in respect of expenditure on the Conservation & Management of Fisheries 0

E.19 Aquaculture Licence Fees -592

E.20 EU Receipts for EMFF -13,595

E.21 EFF (Fisheries) 2007-2013 -2,641

E.22 Receipts from Sustainable Foods Systems Ireland -75

E.23 Receipts from pension-related deduction on public service remuneration -12,145

Total Receipts -471,782

Net Expenditure 1,074,393

124

Appendix DPerformance Budgeting

Objective 1: Food Safety, Animal and Plant

Health and Animal Welfare

Inputs – Financial & Human Resources

2018 Estimate* 2018 Outturn

Current Capital Total Current Capital Total

€000 €000 €000 €000 €000 €000

A.1 ADMINISTRATION – PAY 97,484 0 97,484 96,942 0 96,942

A.2 ADMINISTRATION – NON-PAY 35,404 3,590 38,994 34,422 3,210 37,632

A.3 Food Safety, Animal and Plant 87,077 0 87,077 86,962 0 86,962Health and Animal Welfare

Programme Total: €221,536

*2018 Estimate as amended by Supplementary Estimate

Context and Impact Indicators

Programme A 2016 2017 2018

1 Number of major food safety incidents 0 0 0

2 Number of tests accredited under the National 141 145 148Reference Laboratory function.*

3 Number of new trade areas opened or re-opened 5 3 3

4 Animal Disease and welfare measurements as reported to Retained high Retained high Retained highOIE (Organisation International des Epizooties) data on disease status disease status disease status

and OBF and OBF and OBFa. Exotic diseases incidents nil nil nilb. Brucellosis cases, nil nil nilc. TB herd incidence 3.27% 3.47% 3.51%d. BSE cases. 0 1 0

*“These figures are in respect of accredited test methods currently in use in DAFM Laboratories, some of which may be used for multiple analyses and/or with multiplematrices”. Metrics for 2016 revised from previous to reflect this definition

125

Staff Numbers Department of Agriculture,

Food and the Marine

2018 Estimate 2018 Actual

1,734 1,775

Strategic Goal“To promote andsafeguard public, animaland plant health andanimal welfare for thebenefit of consumersproducers and widersociety”


Objective 2: Farm/Sector Supports and Controls



Current Capital Total Current Capital Total€000 €000 €000 €000 €000 €000

B.1 ADMINISTRATION - PAY 52,316 0 52,316 52,025 0 52,025

B.2 ADMINISTRATION – NON-PAY 17,999 1,269 19,268 17,629 972 18,600

B.3 Agri-environmental Schemes 255,820 1,000 256,820 256,025 836 256,860

B.4 Areas of Natural 227,000 0 227,000 228,666 0 228,666Constraint Scheme

B.5 Development of Agriculture 865 76,200 77,065 719 71,792 72,510and Food (Farm)

B.6 Beef Data & 49,500 0 49,500 47,451 0 47,451Genomics Programme

B.7 Knowledge Transfer 23,000 0 23,000 21,665 0 21,665

B.8 Animal Welfare 20,000 0 20,000 17,650 0 17,650Scheme for Sheep

B.9 Early Retirement Scheme 1,210 0 1,210 830 0 830

B.10 Forestry and Bio Energy 2,370 103,356 105,726 1,720 92,790 94,509

B.11 Control & Other 9,932 0 9,932 9,305 0 9,305Support Scheme Costs

B.12 Other Schemes 7,339 0 7,339 3,024 0 3,024



126

Strategic Goal“Provide incomeand marketsupports tounderpin therural economyand theenvironment”


Food and the Marine


984 952


Programme B 2016 2017 2018

1 Gross Value added of the sector (€m)Primary Sector (Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing) 4,139 5,051 Not yet available

2 Increase in area of land under forestry (ha) +6,500 +5,538 +4,025(% change over previous year) (+0.86%) (+1.73%) (+0.52%)Total area of land under forestry 756,853 770,020 774,045

3 Area of land farmed organically (ha) 72,000 (+17%) 72,000(% change over previous year) (0%) 72,000 (0%)

Absolute emissions expressed as MtCO2eq as 19.05 mt CO2eq 19.58 mt CO2eq Not yet availablereported by the EPA using revised emisson metrics (1990 baseline: 19.53mtCO2eq)

Change in absolute agricultural GHG emissions -0.48 +0.05 Not yet availablefrom 1990 baseline of 19.53mtCO2eq ( % change) (-1.33%) (+0.3%)

Change in absolute agricultural GHG emissions +0.34 +0.87 Not yet availablefrom 2005 baseline of 18.71mt CO2 eq (% change) (+1.8%) (+4.6%)

Agricultural ammonia (NH3) emissions 115.53 Not yet available Not yet availableas reported to EU (kt NH3)

Family Farm Income (FFI) in Disadvantaged areas €22,174 €28,747 Not yet available(as % of FFI in Non- Disadvantaged Areas) 80% 76%

% payments made within targets(a) direct payment schemes 98% 98% 98%(b) other schemes 75 -100% 75 -100% 75 -100%

Retain EU Paying Agency status and secure draw Achieved: Achieved: Achieved:down of EU funding €1,534m €1,397m €1,610m

127


128



Current Capital Total Current Capital Total

€000 €000 €000 €000 €000 €000

C.1 ADMINISTRATION - PAY 14,910 0 14,910 14,827 0 14,827

C.2 ADMINISTRATION – NON-PAY 4,664 247 4,911 4,396 189 4,585

C.3 Research Quality 27,833 0 27,833 27,747 0 27,747& Certification

C.4 Development and Promotion 4,507 12,100 16,607 3,239 5,600 8,839of Agriculture and Food(Non Farm)

C.5 Teagasc Grant 129,432 5,150 134,582 129,432 3,650 133,082

C.6 An Bord Bia Grant 41,266 0 41,266 40,383 0 40,383

C.7 Horse and Greyhound 68,456 11,544 80,000 68,456 11,544 80,000Racing Fund

C.8 CEDRA Rural Innovation & 1,500 0 1,500 1,501 0 1,501Development Fund

C.9 Food and Donations – 15,000 0 15,000 19,000 0 19,000World Food Programme

C.10 Other Services 0 25,000 25,000 0 25,000 25,00012,880 1,000 13,880 12,656 2,500 15,156




Objective 3: Policy and Strategy

Strategic Goal“Provide theoptimum policyframework forthe sustainabledevelopment ofthe agri-foodsector.”

129


Programme C 2016 2017 2018

1 Value (€000m) of agri food exports – total, 12,475 13,844 13,665

2 Value (€000m) of primary production – total 7,064 8,056 7,978m*



Food and the Marine

Teagasc

Bord Bia


288 2601,047 1,009

146 100

* 2018 figures are DAFM/CSO figures. Previous year’s figures are based off Bord Bia statistics that are not used by thedepartment anymore

* Preliminary figures for 2018


Objective 4: Seafood Sector



Current Capital Total Current Capital Total€000 €000 €000 €000 €000 €000

D.1 ADMINISTRATION - PAY 8,805 0 8,805 8,756 0 8,756

D.2 ADMINISTRATION – NON-PAY 3,963 294 4,257 3,871 225 4,097

D.3 Fisheries 10,601 22,362 32,963 9,702 25,493 35,195

D.4 Marine Institute Grant 22,465 10,000 32,465 22,239 10,000 32,239

D.5 Bord Iascaigh Mhara Grant 23,625 13,100 36,725 20,679 10,455 31,134

D.6 Sea Fisheries Protection Authority 12,526 750 13,276 10,197 105 10,302

D.7 Haulbowline Remediation Project 0 10,000 10,000 0 9,701 9,701



Strategic Goal“Deliver a sustainable,growth driven sectorfocussed oncompetitiveness andinnovation driven by askilled workforcedelivering value addedproducts in line withmarket demands.”

130

131


Programme D 2016 2017 2018

1 Value of Total Seafood Sales €939m €1095m €1095m

2 Value of Seafood Exports €559m €645m €645m



Food and the Marine

Marine Institute

Bord Iascaigh Mhara

Sea Fisheries Protection Authority


224 170142 132125 140133 99

EU-funded expenditure managed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

2017 2018

€m €m EAGF

Direct Payment/Single Payment Scheme 1,190 1,208Intervention/Aid to Private Storage** 19.5 3 Other market supports 26 4.5 Other (4) (3)

Co-funded receipts (measures co-funded by EU) - a 2017 2018

€m €m Agriculture

EAFRD Rural Development Programmes 169 387 Veterinary fund 11 10 Other co-financing receipts 2 1

Fisheries

EMFF and EFF Fisheries Programme* 23 16

1,419 1,643

Only the EU co-funding on these programmes is shown in this table.*EMFF advance funding of €8.6m received are not receipted to A&A** €17.5 million was as a result of depreciation of skimmed milk powder in stock

132

Appendix EEAGF/EAFRD Guarantee

Receipts 2018

The following shows the payments made in Ireland from the EAGF fund and EAFRD & other EU receipts during the2018 financial year

EU-funded expenditure managed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Annual Report2018

Prepared by the Department ofAgriculture, Food and the Marine

www.agriculture.gov.ie

2A

8102RlaunnA trope

2

8102

annual report annual report 2018 2018 - opac.oireachtas.ie

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