Friday 23 March 2001

Written Answers to Questions

Ms Mary Nelis asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail (a) the number of victims groups by geographical area (b) the amount of funding allocated to each group from the budget of the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and (c) the amount of funding allocated to each group from the budget of the Community Relations Unit.

The First Minister and Deputy First Minister (Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon): [holding answer 12 March 2001]: There are 34 main victims groups known to the Victims Unit of the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and there may be other smaller groups which have not yet approached the Unit. The 34 groups are distributed by County as follows:

• 15 are situated in Antrim,
• 4 in Armagh,
• 4 in Down,
• 2 in Fermanagh,
• 5 in Londonderry and
• 4 in Tyrone.

The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister has allocated £420,000 in the current financial year to assist victims. Decisions on the allocation of this funding are currently being finalised.

The Community Relations Council has allocated funding to victims groups and projects as follows:

Not Victims Any More (NOVA) £1,500

West Tyrone Voice £2,500

Institute for Counselling & Personal Development £3,953

The Victims & Survivors Trust £1,470

Widows Against Violence Empowered (WAVE) £2,300

Support, Training, Education, Employment and £2,100

Research (STEER)

Widows Against Violence Empowered has also received core funding of £35,807 for each of the last 3 years and An Crann was granted a total of £165,000 through the European Peace Programme. The Community Relations Council also administered a Victim Support Grant Scheme funded by the Northern Ireland Office with a total budget of £225,000.

Mr Boyd Douglas asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail (a) who has been employed by the Office as special advisor(s) (b) the qualifying criteria used for the appointment and (c) the remit of the special advisor(s).

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: [holding answer 12 March 2001]: The following are employed as special advisers in the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister: Mr David Campbell, Dr Graham Gudgin, Mr David Kerr, Mr Brian Barrington, Mr Colm Larkin and Mr Hugh Logue. The latter two are on secondment from the European Commission.

All of the advisors were selected on the basis of their ability to carry out the functions of the post.

The remit of special advisors is set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the standard contract of employment for such advisors. A copy of the model contract has been placed in the Assembly Library.

Ms Monica McWilliams asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister whether it has any plans to review the exclusion from statutory protection against religious and political discrimination of teachers employed in grant aided schools in Northern Ireland, consequent to Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: [holding answer 21 March 2001]: The Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or political opinion is the responsibility of the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

The European Union Framework Directive will require the introduction of measures throughout the EU to outlaw discrimination in employment on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. It will be necessary to amend the 1998 Order to reflect the exception in the Directive regarding recruitment of teachers.

This exception will be reviewed in the context of the development of the Single Equality Bill. Views will be sought in the consultation on that Bill and the Bill will be subject to an Equality Impact Assessment.

Mr David Hilditch asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to provide financial assistance to enable groups, funded by the Community Relations Unit, to reschedule events which have had to be cancelled as a result of the Foot and Mouth crisis.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: No such requests have been received by the Community Relations Unit. Where an event has been funded as a discrete item by the Community Relations Unit, additional costs incurred will be considered on their merits. However, where groups are provided with an annual budget, they would normally be expected to manage within that budget, since the Community Relations Unit has no funding available for this purpose over and above its existing financial provision.

Mr John Fee asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to outline progress made in strengthening and reorganising the structure of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: The Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington represents the interests of the Northern Ireland administration in the United States. The office is staffed by 4 people, one of whom is employed on a part-time basis.

An additional member of staff at middle management level has been engaged locally. The Bureau will relocate in the near future and this will provide an opportunity to review its functions, structure and relationship with other bodies promoting Northern Ireland in the United States.

Mr Alan McFarland asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, pursuant to the statement issued following the meeting of the Executive Committee of 02 March 2001, whether the inter-departmental committee of officials, established to co-ordinate action on Foot and Mouth Disease, includes officials from the Department for Regional Development.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: We can confirm that the inter-Departmental Committee of officials includes an official from the Department for Regional Development.

Ms Carmel Hanna asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail what steps are being taken by the Community Relations Council to combat sectarianism.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: The Community Relations Council is an independent organisation which receives financial support from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

The Council gives support and assistance to numerous community and voluntary bodies which are directly tackling sectarianism in a variety of ways

The Community Relations Council also works in partnership with other organisations, including many public authorities to combat sectarianism.

Full details of the Community Relations Council’s activities are published in its Annual Report. I am arranging to have copies of the most recently published edition of this placed in the Library.

Mr George Savage asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister if evidence was given by the Office to the House of Commons Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs on its inquiry into the Parades Commission.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: We have not jointly presented evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee for the inquiry into the Parades Commission.

Mr Jim Wilson asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail any discussions with the Secretary of State on nominations of Assembly Members to the Police Board.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: We have not jointly discussed the nomination of Assembly members to the Police Board with the Secretary of State or his predecessor.

Mr Eddie McGrady asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail what arrangements have been made to ensure the implementation of the New Targeting Social Need.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: Each Department has a New TSN Action Plan showing how it is targeting its efforts and available resources towards people, groups and areas in greatest social need.

Departments are now implementing these Action Plans.

The Executive will keep a close watch on progress on the New TSN Action Plans across all Departments - Ministers will provide regular progress reports.

Every Department will thoroughly review its Action Plan every year – and update it to take account of progress; building in new targets to follow those completed.

In addition, each Department in its Public Service Agreement commits itself to implementing its New TSN Action Plan.

The New TSN Action Plans will be published later this month. We will publish annual progress reports – so that people can see for themselves what we have achieved during each year.

New TSN will be evaluated by the end of 2002. The outcome of the evaluation will feed into future thinking on New TSN.

Mr James Leslie asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail any discussions with the Government of the United States of America.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: During their visit to the United States last week, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister met President Bush and Secretary of State Powell. In these discussions, the US Administration made clear their close interest in Northern Ireland affairs. The day to day contacts with the US Administration are conducted through the Northern Ireland Bureau.

Ms Patricia Lewsley asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail what arrangements have been made to take forward the work of the Disability Rights Taskforce.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister is currently working with all other Northern Ireland Departments to produce a response / consultation document on the Task Force’s recommendations concerning devolved matters.

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has been asked to work in tandem with the Disability Rights Commission on those issues already remitted to the Disability Rights Commission.

The recommendations giving disabled people new protections against discrimination in education are being implemented in Great Britain through the Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill. In Northern Ireland these recommendations are being considered jointly by the Department of Education and the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment.

Ms Eileen Bell asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail any plans to mark the European Week Against Racism.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: The European week against Racism and the United Nations day against racism was launched at an event organised by the Equality Commission and hosted by the Multi-Cultural Resource Centre on 15^th March.

Mr Haughey spoke at this event and launched a poster campaign.

Mr Haughey has accepted an invitation to speak at an event organised by Traveller Movement (NI) being held on the UN day against Racism on 21^st March. He will launch the ‘Anti-discriminatory Practice with Travellers’ training pack.

Mr Eugene McMenamin asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to outline what steps are being taken to develop the cross-cutting theme of combating social exclusion and poverty as outlined in the Programme for Government.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: The Programme for Government sets out the Executive’s specific commitments in terms of tackling the problems of poverty and their causes. These include: New TSN Action Plans to be implemented by all Departments, work to tackle the problems of unemployment, including a new Taskforce on Employability and Long term Unemployment, action to improve the delivery of social security services to vulnerable groups and a strategy to encourage up-take of benefits, programmes to regenerate disadvantaged urban and rural areas, to improve access to decent, affordable housing and to address fuel poverty, Executive Programme funds, particularly the Social Inclusion/Community Regeneration and Children Fund.

Departments are working hard to fulfil these commitments. We will report regularly on progress to the Assembly.

Mr John Dallat asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to outline plans to develop relations with the new administration in the United States of America.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: During their visit to the United States last week, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister met President Bush and Secretary of State Powell. In these discussions, the US Administration made clear their close interest in Northern Ireland affairs.

Mr Alban Maginness asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to outline what arrangements are in place to commemorate the Holocaust.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: The inaugural United Kingdom Memorial Day national ceremony to commemorate the Holocaust took place at Westminster Central Hall on 27 January 2001. The Deputy First Minister attended on behalf of the devolved administration.

Mr David Ford asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister whether there is any provision in place for Ministers to represent other Departmental Ministers in the Assembly when they are unavailable.

Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon: While there is no particular provision in place Departmental Ministers can and have made arrangements for other Ministers to speak on their behalf in the Assembly when it is appropriate to do so.

Mrs Iris Robinson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she could confirm that (a) lorries bringing livestock into Northern Ireland are no longer emptied and the exact number of animals ascertained and (b) Departmental officials are not permitted to board lorries to confirm the number of livestock on board.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms Rodgers): I can confirm that since the advent of the Single European Market in 1993, lorries are no longer routinely emptied on entry into Northern Ireland and the animals counted. However, Department inspectors still have the authority to inspect consignments if they suspect an offence has been committed and spot checks are carried out on animal numbers.

In respect of trade from Great Britain, the Diseases of Animals (NI) Order 1981 contains powers allowing an inspector to enter any vehicle to ensure compliance with the Order or any legislation made under it.

In respect of intra-community trade, checks are normally conducted at the point of destination rather than at the point of entry. However, where there is the suspicion of disease or non-compliance of the regulations, checks can be performed at point of entry.

Mrs Iris Robinson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail, in respect of the Northern Ireland fishing fleet, the number of (a) vessels (b) people employed (c) current vacancies for young people and (d) people thought to be dependent on the fishing industry and to outline the steps she is taking to sustain the viability of the industry.

Ms Rodgers: Latest information collected by Officials in Fisheries Division would indicate:-

- There are 344 locally licensed vessels of which 177 are over 10 metres in length.

- Some 686 people both full time and part time are employed in the catching sector.

- Information on current vacancies for young people is not available but there are indications that some fishing vessels are short of crew members.

- It is estimated there are some 1339 people both part time and full time employed in processing and marketing and in other fishery related work such as harbour jobs, boat building and chandlery supplies.

Steps on various fronts are being made to assist the sustainability of the fleet. As you will be aware priority is being given to the introduction of a fishing vessel decommissioning scheme, and steps are being taken to seek to restore last year’s nephrops TAC. In addition, I am pressing for the removal of the payment of light dues by fishermen, and I have asked my officials to consider the possibility of a tailored training for fishermen in the near future. In the longer term I would intend to undertake an assessment of this year’s closures and to consult the other Fisheries Ministers on future arrangements.

Mr Oliver Gibson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail what meetings she has had with representatives of the Horticultural industry to discuss the impact, to that industry, of European Union rules and regulations on packaging.

Ms Rodgers: I have had no meetings with representatives of the horticultural industry to discuss the impact to that industry of European rules and regulations on packaging, nor have I been asked for any meetings on that subject.

I have however had discussions recently with the industry about the difficult trading conditions being experienced by growers and have concluded that some elements of the horticulture sector in Northern Ireland appear to offer potential for growth, both in home and export markets. I have therefore taken steps to initiate a study, which will be developed in consultation with the industry. Identification of business opportunities and market requirements will clearly be important elements of any such study.

Meantime my Department will continue with its ongoing programme to support companies in improving the promotion of their products. This is done through initiatives such as the Northern Ireland Garden Centre Awards, the Nursery Trade Directory and exhibits at trade shows such as the Kildare Growers and Four Oaks Shows.

Mr Oliver Gibson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the value of sheepmeat exports to the European Union in the last three months.

Ms Rodgers: Unfortunately the information you request is not available. The most recent statistics on sheepmeat exports relate to the period up to August 2000.

Mr Oliver Gibson asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the action she is taking to increase woodland cover.

Ms Rodgers: I have set a target of 700 hectares of new planting this year, to be achieved through a combination of public and private planting. I have made provision in the Northern Ireland Rural Development Plan 2000-2006 for measures to support the creation of private woodland at a rate of about 600 hectares per annum of new planting on agricultural land. The balance of new planting is carried out by the Forest Service.

Mr Gerry McHugh asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail her contingency plans, in the event of a prolonged foot and mouth outbreak, to deal with the need by farmers to complete "Integrated Administrative Control Systems (IACS)" forms for European Union agricultural area payments.[R]

Ms Rodgers: Applications for the 2001 Integrated Administrative and Control System issued to farmers within the last few days in the normal way. The closing date for receipt of applications is 15 May 2001 with late applications accepted with penalties up to 9 June 2001. At this stage there is no impact on 2001 IACS applications arising from the Foot and Mouth outbreak and movement restrictions. The scheme rules and normal arrangements for the completion and return of applications continue to apply.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will respond quickly and positively where it becomes apparent that farmers are encountering difficulty because of the emergency either in submitting application forms or complying with IACS or other scheme rules. My Department has published guidance to assist farmers on questions they may have and to explain the special arrangements already in place to deal with difficulties they may be encountering in complying with requirements under the major livestock schemes. This material will be reviewed and updated as necessary as the situation develops.

Subsidy payments will not be delayed because of circumstances arising from the Foot and Mouth movement restrictions.

Mr George Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to confirm the outcome of the meeting of the European Council of Agriculture Ministers of 26 February 2001 and to make a statement.

Ms Rodgers: The Council reviewed the main decisions on BSE which had been taken at recent meetings, underlining the importance of effective implementation of these measures, as well as the need to avoid national measures. It also endorsed the Commission's proposals on scrapie testing and surveillance and undertook to keep the science under review.

The Council considered the Commission's proposed seven-point plan in response to the crisis in the European beef market. A wide range of reactions emerged. The UK supported the need for urgent measures to restore consumer confidence and remove unwanted beef from older animals from the market, while querying the suitability of some of the measures designed to rebalance the beef market in the medium term. We expressed particular concern about the proposals to require suckler cow premium claims to include a minimum of 20 per cent heifers, the introduction of individual quotas for beef special premium and restoration of the 90 head limit on beef special premium claims.

The UK also provided the Council with details of the foot and mouth disease outbreak, the measures being taking to contain the disease and, in collaboration with the Commission, to prevent its spread to other Member States. There was great sympathy for UK farmers and an appreciation of the comprehensive measures we are taking.

Jointly with the Italian delegation, the UK called for a review of the EU's food labelling policy to satisfy consumers demands for more information, including, for example, how food is produced and what it contains. This initiative was given strong support by Germany and Austria.

Rev Dr William McCrea asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to permit, under Departmental supervision, sheep farmers to move ewes about to lamb from one non-restricted farm to another.

Ms Rodgers: The single most important factor in the spread of this disease is the movement of animals. It was for this reason that I imposed the controls I did on the movement of animals.

However, I do appreciate that welfare problems can develop with ewes at lambing time. In recognition of that, I have announced some judicious easing of the relevant controls, not only in sheep, but on the other susceptible animals as well. Sadly, sheep in the 3km protection zone will still not be able to go off their holdings except to slaughter on emergency welfare grounds. However, in the 10km surveillance zone, my Department will permit some movement of sheep back to home premises for lambing, under a number of conditions including the need for prior clinical examination of the herd and supervised transport. Movement may only be within the surveillance zone. In the rest of NI, DARD will licence sheep movements for lambing back to the home premises for lambing, provided that the movement does not exceed 5km and subject to other conditions. I would stress that all these arrangements will require prior DARD licence which will only be forthcoming where genuine welfare grounds exist.

Mr Jim Wells asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she intends to include the re-introduction of tree felling licences as part of the review of forest policy.

Ms Rodgers: I intend as part of the review of forest policy to consider the need for the reintroduction of felling licences.

Ms Patricia Lewsley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline the criteria for awarding a licence to enable farmers to send animals to local abattoirs.

Ms Rodgers: Individual producers can obtain a licence from their local Divisional Veterinary Office or they can contact their local abattoir and the abattoir will apply for the licence on the applicant’s behalf. Whichever method is used

• the animals must be from farms outside the infected area and be moving to a slaughterhouse which is also outside the infected area;

• the producer must supply their name and address, their herd number or flock mark, the number of animals they intend to send for slaughter and the address of their farm premises.

• the producer must agree a date with the abattoir to take the animals and this date must be supplied to the local DVO.

• The movement licence must travel with the animals, and be surrendered to a DARD official on arrival at the abattoir.

• The movement must take place on the date shown on the licence and it will be valid for up to 1 working day after the date of the expected slaughter.

• All the normal movement documents that would accompany animals in transit must also submitted. Examples of this would be MC2 documents for cattle or Aujeszky’s Disease documents for pigs.

Mr Meryvn Carrick asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail what programme structure she has identified to deliver the 5,00 business and 5,000 environmental training places by 31 March 2002 as outlined in the Programme for Government.

Ms Rodgers: Due to the current foot and mouth outbreak, delivery of all DARD’s training programmes have been suspended for the immediate future. The structures to deliver the initiative have, however, been put in place and will be re-activated as soon as the disease situation permits.

The Business component of the training consists of an Introductory Programme delivered over 4 three hour sessions. This will be supplemented by a series of optional Intermediate workshops with a strong enterprise focus.

The Environment component also consists of an Introductory Programme which in this case will concentrate on the key elements of Good Farming Practice. This lasts for 2x 3 hour sessions and will be supplemented by additional optional workshops on specific topics of relevance to the individual business.

In all cases it is intended that the programmes will be delivered in local areas and in the case of the Environment Programme will be centred on 16 host farms. Delivery will take place in the evening and at times to suit participants.

Mr Danny Kennedy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development whether she has any plans to review procedures for responding to outbreaks of diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease.

Ms Rodgers: We had a clear emergency disease control plan in place to allow us to respond to an outbreak of a range of diseases, of which Foot and Mouth is only one, and that emergency plan has worked very well.

As with any major incident, it is important, after the event, to review the whole response so that emergency plans can be refined to take account of the latest experiences and I will be doing so in this case. However the priority at the moment is to continue to contain the disease and in due course eradicate it.

Mr Gardiner Kane asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline her plans to improve and encourage greater co-operation within the Agri Food Chain.

Ms Rodgers: There are currently some forty-five co-operatives registered in Northern Ireland. Officials from my Department have worked with producers, processors and retailers to encourage the principles of collaboration and integration along the food supply chain. They will continue to do this across all sectors of the agri-food industry in Northern Ireland building on the successes to date. Financial assistance is also provided and since 1995 £1 million has been awarded to 16 projects approved under the Marketing Development Scheme for activities involving producer co-operation and I am seeking to increase the funding available under this scheme.

Mr Kieran McCarthy asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to give her assessment on the prospects of the introduction of a decommissioning scheme and a 'tie-up' scheme for the Northern Ireland fishing fleet.

Ms Rodgers: The pursuit of a fishing vessel decommissioning scheme is a high priority and work continues in its development. It is not however possible to make any announcement on the scheme, as it is part of the fisheries measures contained in the Northern Ireland Transitional Objective 1 Programme which awaits approval from Brussels.

It has not been policy to provide compensation, including tie up schemes, because of reductions in fish quotas or closures, nor indeed is it feasible for this year's closures.

Mr David Ford asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the current situation on Foot and Mouth Disease.

Ms Rodgers: I very pleased to report that there has still only been one confirmed case of Foot and Mouth Disease in Northern Ireland. We continue to have quite a number of suspected cases reported, which is understandable given that farmers are particularly anxious about any unusual signs in their animals at this time. However all of these have so far proved to be negative.

There has been much media interest in the so called missing sheep – in other words the possibility that the consignment of infected sheep which led to our outbreak, may have been larger than we had first thought. As I said in my Statement to the Assembly on 12 March, there is no certainty at all that there were any such sheep. However, we did receive anecdotal reports that there could be, and I am duty bound to follow those reports up. My Department is of course pursuing this with the utmost vigour, but there is as yet no evidence that the sheep ever existed and we do have to consider the possibility that this suggestion is simply wrong.

I would however appeal to anyone who has any information to come forward with it. Until we know the full circumstances we can not be assured that Foot and Mouth Disease has been beaten.

In the meantime the biggest single threat is the virus getting past the farm gate to susceptible animals so all farmers must remain vigilant and make sure that they maintain their "Fortress Farm" procedures.

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to carry out an investigation into the durability of livestock ear tags currently being marketed in Northern Ireland.

Ms Rodgers: My Department is currently engaged with the other UK Agriculture Departments in a Working Group set up recently to review approval of cattle ear tags in the United Kingdom.

The remit of the Group will include investigation of the durability or loss rate associated with tags approved for use in the United Kingdom.

My Department has not carried out any investigations into the durability or loss rate of tags used for other livestock.

Mr Pat Doherty asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to outline measures she has taken to communicate with farmers during the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Armagh and other areas.

Ms Rodgers: My first action was to set up a telephone Helpline which operates between 8.30am and 9.00pm to ensure farmers, importers and the general public were able to have their own particular queries answered as soon as possible. There have been some 19,000 calls to the Helpline since it was set up on 21 February.

I have taken part in numerous interviews on the television, on the radio, in the major Northern Ireland daily papers, in all of the Northern Ireland weekly papers and in the specialist agricultural press right from the start of the current crisis.

I also arranged for my Department to issue information leaflets on Foot and Mouth Disease to every livestock keeper in Northern Ireland and I have also passed these leaflets to the two main farming Unions to ensure that they bring them to the attention of their members. We also placed an advert in all the major Northern Ireland daily and weekly papers and all the agricultural press setting out the measures farmers should take to combat the disease.

In addition to using all of the traditional methods I have already mentioned, we have also made sure that as much information as possible has been made available on the Department’s Internet Website. This has become a major contact point for the public with some 25,000 visits per day being recorded compared with around 1,000 before FMD.

I have had numerous meetings with the Industry, and have had a series of bilateral meetings with various sectoral interests within the Industry. I am in continual contact with the farming unions.

Mr Ian Paisley Jnr asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the level of funding made available to promote the culture and heritage of the Ulster-Scots community in comparison to that made available to promote Irish culture and language in North Antrim.

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): Funding of £1.3m stg will be available to Tha Boord o Ulster Scotch in 2001/2002. DCAL will provide £0.97m of this. Funding available to Foras na Gaeilge in the same period is £10.1m DCAL will provide £2.53m of this.

Under direct rule the funding for Ulster-Scots was £118,000. Funding of £667,000 is available for Tha Boord o Ulster Scotch in 2000/2001. This is a fivefold increase on the predevolution figure.

The funding of £1.3m stg for Tha Boord in 2001/2002 represents almost a tenfold increase since devolution.

The Ulster-Scots language and culture are at a different stage of development to Irish, Gaidhlig or Welsh for example.

The North/South Language Body is charged with promoting the Irish and Ulster-Scots languages and culture throughout the island of Ireland. Both Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulster Scotch prepare their corporate and business plans on that basis. Neither Foras na Gaeilge nor Tha Boord o Ulster Scotch allocate funding by reference to specific geographical areas per se within the island of Ireland.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail when a person with Ulster-Scots expertise will be appointed to the Linguistic Diversity Branch.

Mr McGimpsey: I recognise fully the need to ensure that my Department has direct access to Ulster Scots expertise. I cannot at present specify when an appointment will be made but I am reviewing this in the light of the development of policy on the Ulster Scots language.

We are able to call for advice on language matters from Tha Boord o Ulster Scotch and academics, consultants, community or voluntary sector organisations with expertise in the field.

Mr Seamus Close asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail (a) the number of fish caught by anglers in Inland Waterways and (b) where this information is published.

Mr McGimpsey: Information on the total number of wild rod caught salmon, sea trout, brown trout and coarse fish species caught in inland waterways in any year is not available. The only information available relating to the number of fish caught by anglers in inland waterways within the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission’s (FCILC) area of responsibility is based on catch returns completed by licence holders. However only around 3-5% of anglers complete catch returns and therefore no accurate figures on the number of fish caught in this area are available. Information on catch returns will be contained in the Loughs Agency’s Annual Report when it is published.

There is no statutory requirement in the Fisheries Conservancy Board (FCB) area that requires anglers to make a catch return. Some catch statistics on rod caught salmon are available from a few fisheries such as the River Bush, the Bann System Fishery on the Lower Bann and a partial return from the Ulster Angling Federation for some rivers in the Lough Neagh system. These figures are published in the FCB’s Annual Report.

The FCILC and FCB plan to introduce Fisheries Tagging and Logbook Regulations later this year. These Regulations will require anglers to tag all salmon and large sea trout that are retained and to record details in a logbook. These Regulations will provide for the first time accurate information on rod caught salmon and large sea trout.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the funding allocated to Disability Sports in Northern Ireland in each of the last two financial years for which figures are available.

Mr McGimpsey: Responsibility for the distribution of funding for sport lies with Sports Council for Northern Ireland (SCNI) who have advised that the following amounts were allocated to Disabled Sport in NI, through their Exchequer and Lottery funding schemes, in the past two financial years.

SCNI fund four disability governing bodies in addition to Disability Sport Northern Ireland (the umbrella organisation for disability sport in the province). Each body has been offered a yearly development grant as follows (for the last two financial years):-

Disability Sport Northern Ireland £30,000

Northern Ireland Blind Sports £2,000

Ulster Deaf Sports Association £1,500

NI Sports Association for People with Learning Difficulties £1,500

Northern Ireland Paraplegic Association £2,500

The Sports Council for Northern Ireland introduced a new range of Lottery Capital and Revenue programmes in February 2000. These programmes were designed to meet the needs of sport, as defined within the Strategy for the Development of Sport in NI, 1997-2005, and to complement other SCNI funded investments in sport in Northern Ireland. The figures provided reflect the awards (only) from the start of these programmes to date, though sports for the disabled did attract £218,100 lottery funding through the previous Lottery Programme (Jan 95 - Feb 00).

While the recent rounds of funding under the Capital Programme made no awards for projects with a special focus on disability sport, awards were made to a number of "mainstream" projects which have included a specific disabled element. These were (full costs of the project provided - the disability element represents only a part of total project costs):-:

St Mary’s GAC, Ballymena Disabled Toilet £70,000

Con Magees GAC, Ballymena Facilities for disabled £25,000

Forthriver Bowling/Tennis Ramps and Changing Facilities £70,000

Brantwood Football Club Disabled Toilets £70,000

Kilmore Recreation Football Disabled Toilets £65,000

Many applications received and funded by the Lottery Fund have significant elements to service the members of the population who have a disability. While some of these elements are little more than disabled access to buildings other projects have addressed the need for full integration for people with a disability in their sporting programme. Given this, it is not possible to determine specifically the total of Capital Funding allocated to sport for the disabled.

The Sports Council have made various recent awards through their Revenue Programmes. These include Major International Event sponsorship (Willi Brinkman Basketball Cup - £6,200) and various offers of awards to talented athletes:-

Sharon Rice (Athletics) £3,000

Mary Rice (Athletics) £5,000

Michael Smyth (Athletics) £3,000

Janet Gray (Water-skiing) £16,500

Aubrey Bingham (Wheelchair Tennis) £2,500

Jason Black (Wheelchair Tennis) £2,500

The Sports Council have also made various recent awards to events which have a significant disabled element through their Millennium Community Awards programme (£26,170).

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the funding allocated by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland by each parliamentary constituency for each of the last two financial years for which figures are available.

Mr McGimpsey: I am afraid the information you have requested is not available. Revenue funding, both Exchequer and Lottery, is made to the Governing Bodies of sport whose remit is Northern Ireland wide. Lottery Capital grant is allocated to each project but these are not classified into parliamentary constituency areas and the information could only be collated at disproportionate cost.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the steps being taken by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland to implement their obligations on equality of opportunity.

Mr McGimpsey: Following consultation, the Sports Council has drawn up an Equality Scheme which has been approved by the Equality Commission and a succession of awareness and training initiatives has been undertaken within the Council. An internal screening of the Council’s policies has now been completed and this will be the subject of further consultation, following which relevant views will be taken into account. Further consultation will be carried out over a five year period to assess the impact of the Council’s policies.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail (a) the types of sports being played by disabled athletes (b) the numbers involved in the administration of these sports and (c) the numbers participating in these sports.

Mr McGimpsey: Sport for the disabled is represented, in the main, by Disability Sport Northern Ireland (DSNI). DSNI is the umbrella organisation for the four Sports Council for Northern Ireland (SCNI) recognised governing bodies of disabled sport: Ulster Deaf Sports Association (UDSA); NI Sports Association for People with Learning Difficulties (NISAPLD); Northern Ireland Blind Sports (NIBS) and Northern Ireland Paraplegic Association (NIPA).

Each one of the four governing bodies is administered by a traditional administrative structure of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and supported by a small committee. Disability Sport Northern Ireland is staffed by a full-time Development Officer with an additional officer providing administrative support.

People with disabilities participate in sport through their respective governing bodies, as well as through ‘mainstream’ sporting organisations. Each governing body is required to return statistical information each year as part of their exchequer development grant application. The figures below reflect the participation figures for disability governing bodies for the last 4 years:

97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01

NIPA 65 67 67 52

NISAPLD - 370 370 370

UDSC 8 - - -

NIBS 200 206 100 -

(- indicates no figures provided)

The Sports Council do not hold figures for people with a disability participating in sport through ‘mainstream’ sporting organisations.

People with a disability participate in a wide range of ‘mainstream’ sporting activity. Essentially the extent of a persons disability determines the type of sporting activity that they may engage in. Though the Sports Council do not monitor the range of this sporting activity, they have indicated that some governing bodies have made significant efforts to integrate and make full provision for people with a disability i.e. swimming, tennis, athletics and sailing.

The Sports Council have also indicated that the most popular sports played by people within the SCNI recognised disability sports governing body family is as follows:-

Badminton, Soccer, Ten Pin Bowling

Sailing, Golf, Swimming, Running, Walking, Bochia

Basketball, Bowling, Swimming, Soccer, Snooker

Bowls, Archery, Basketball, Tennis

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure whether he has any plans to increase funding for Disability Sport.

Mr McGimpsey: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland is responsible for the distribution of funding to sport, including disability sport. I understand that in 2001-02, the Council is providing a number of opportunities within which disability sport will be able to bid for increased funds. These include:

• the launch of a new Lottery programme which will enable disability sport interests to bid for funding for a full-time appointment to further the development of disability sport;
• the addition of an ‘equality fund’ as part of grant to Governing Bodies of sport, against which they may bid for specific programmes relating to disability sport;
• an increase in the scale of grant-in-aid to Governing Bodies which include disability organisations;
• a strategic planning initiative which will provide cash support to assist organisations, including disability organisations, to engage in a formal strategic planning process.

In addition, the Council’s strategic programmes relating to facility provision, Youth Sport, Coach Education and performance progression, all have significant disability components which are capable of further growth.

Mr David Hilditch asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the 40 culture, arts and leisure venues due for audit by May 2001, as outlined in his Department's Public Service Agreement.

Mr McGimpsey: I have listed below the 40 culture, arts and leisure venues selected for audit to assess accessibility by May 2001.

An Cregan Visitor centre - Omagh

Antrim Forum

Ballearl Art and Leisure Centre - Newtownabbey

Ballymoney Town Hall

Belfast Central Library

Burnavon Centre - Dungannon

Calgach Centre - Londonderry

Clogher Rural Community Centre - Dungannon

Clotworthy Arts Centre - Antrim

Craigavon Watersports Centre

Crossmaglen Community Centre

Divis Community Centre - Belfast

Down Leisure Centre - Downpatrick

Ebrington Centre - Londonderry

Elmwood Hall - Belfast

Flowerfield Arts Centre - Coleraine

Gortalowry House - Cookstown

Granaghan Resource Centre - Swatragh

Heritage Plaza - Carrickfergus

Irish Linen Museum - Lisburn

Island Resource Centre - Lisburn

Laganvalley Leisureplex - Lisburn

Lakeland Forum - Fermanagh

Londonderry Central Library

Market Place Theatre - Armagh

Maysfield Leisure Centre - Belfast

Movanagher Coarse Fishery - Ballymoney Council

North Down Heritage Centre - Bangor

Odyssey Arena - Belfast

Old Town Hall - Banbridge

Pinebank Community Centre - Craigavon

The Disability Arts Studio - Dungannon

The Players Station - Belvoir Estate - Belfast

The Playhouse - Londonderry

The Ulster History Park - Omagh

Town Hall Arts Centre - Newtownards

Ulster College of Music - Belfast

Ulster Hall - Belfast

Ulster Museum - Belfast

Verbal Arts Centre - Londonderry

Ms Eileen Bell asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail any discussions which have taken place with the developer of the Queens Parade development in North Down regarding the provision of a Library.

Mr McGimpsey: Responsibility for the provision of public libraries is a matter for the Education and Library Boards. As yet no proposal has been put to my Department about the provision of a library with the Queen’s Parade development. I am aware however that an exploratory meeting was held in June 2000 between the South Eastern Education and Library Board and the Chief Executive of North Down Borough Council regarding the SEELB’s intentions to develop a new library provision in Bangor. At this meeting the Board’s attention was drawn to the development on the Queen’s Parade site. A representative from the Board’s Library Service subsequently met with the Architects and a representative of the developer when the possibility of library provision in the development was discussed. No further discussions have taken place.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure whether he is providing funding to support the publication of a history of the Irish Parliament and to outline the criteria by which he considers such requests.

Mr McGimpsey: I can confirm that my Department is providing funding to support the publication of a History of the Irish Parliament. This publication was previously the responsibility of the Department of the Environment which, in 1989, invited the Ulster Historical Foundation to include the History of the Irish Parliament, on which Professor Edith Johnston-Liik had then been working for some years, in its programme of publications. The Department regarded this as an important work of scholarship and recognising that it would represent a substantial commitment for the Foundation, agreed that government funding would be available. With devolution on 2 December 1999 responsibility for the Foundation passed from the DoE to the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.

The Ulster Historical Foundation was established over 40 years ago as an integral part of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) with the twin purpose of developing a centre of excellence in genealogy for the benefit of the Ulster Diaspora around the world and of publishing historical works that would be unlikely to attract the patronage of a commercial publisher. It is in this context that my Department will consider future requests for funding to support publication costs.

Mr David Ford asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail what action he has taken in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to combat the spread of Foot and Mouth disease.

Mr McGimpsey: I have taken a number of steps to help combat the spread of Foot and Mouth disease.

On 28 February I announced that my Department was closing all fisheries within the Public Angling Estate. I also advised permit distributors not to sell permits until further notice and that private fishery owners should not operate their fisheries until further notice and on 2 March I called for complete suspension of all sports events until further notice.

OSNI withdrew all field staff from working in rural areas on 26 February 2001 and have been in contact with the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development who has approved the action we have taken.

No further field work in rural areas will be carried out until OSNI receive clearance from DARD.

OSNI have also supplied emergency digital mapping to MAFF in London to help them co-ordinate the UK Emergency response. Agricultural Environmental Science Division within DARD already hold some of our digital data and OSNI are ready to supply or assist as required.

I have arranged for disinfected mats to be placed where feasible at the car park and pedestrian entrances to DCAL controlled accommodation.

I have reviewed my diary engagements and withdrawn from some events.

My department has circulated guidance to NDPB’S for information and dissemination to other bodies.

My Department is also represented on the Interdepartmental Group meeting under the Chairmanship of my colleague Brid Rodgers to help in the management of this crisis.

Mr Gardiner Kane asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail the steps he is taking to increase fish production and river enhancement on the Bushmills section of the River Bush.

Mr McGimpsey: The Department manages three angling beats at Bushmills on the River Bush - the Town stretch and the New stretch which lie downstream of the Salmon hatchery and the Leap stretch lying upstream of the hatchery. The Department stocks up to 500,000 salmon fry annually in the upper Bush catchment to boost returns of adult fish to the lower river where they are available for anglers. In addition a significant number of tagged Salmon smolts are released annually to monitor marine survival and this further increases the numbers of returning fish available for anglers in the lower two beats. The Department has also removed all of the nets from the sea near the river mouth which has allowed more fish to enter the river. Furthermore river enhancement works on the New stretch were completed in 2000 providing additional angling pools on this popular stretch of the river.

A programme of fisheries rehabilitation works is also being carried out within the Bush catchment which will further enhance the stocks of fish available. Finally we will shortly be appointing a river warden for the Bush and this should help to reduce poaching.

Mr Meryvn Carrick asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail what representations he has made to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Minister of Environment to improve water quality in rivers for the benefit of fishing and other recreational sporting activities.