52Nd MEETING of the FOYLE CARLINGFORD
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82nd MEETING OF THE FOYLE CARLINGFORD AND IRISH LIGHTS COMMISSION Wednesday 28th August 2013 11:00 am Whistledown Hotel, Warrenpoint Attendees Present Winston Patterson (Chairman) Alan McCulla (Vice Chair) Andrew Duncan Donal Tipping Jim Wilson Laurence Arbuckle Phil Mahon Seamus Rodgers In Attendance - Loughs Agency John Pollock – Acting Chief Executive Officer John McCartney – Director of Conservation and Protection Barry Fox – Director of Aquaculture and Shellfisheries Kevin Wilson – Director of Development Siobhan Wilson (Minutes) 1. Apologies Theresa McLaverty Joe Miller Michael McCormick 2. Conflict of Interest There were no conflicts of interest with any agenda items. 3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting It was noted that the previous minutes had a typo at the end of Kevin Wilson’s Board Report and should read Co-operation Ireland. The remaining minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as an accurate record. Proposed Seamus Rodgers Seconded Laurence Arbuckle 4. Reserved Minutes There were no reserved minutes of the previous meeting to agree. 5. Matters Arising There were no matters arising to be discussed. 6. CEO Report John Pollock, Acting CEO provided the Board with the following report: John Pollock advises the meeting that there is no further update on the CEO recruitment process. Winston Patterson adds that there seems to be no urgency in getting the post filled permanently and that as Judith Tenor of DARD Fisheries is leaving her post on 15th September 2013 may cause the recruitment process to drag on further. John Pollock suggests that he adds the item of Recruitment of the CEO to the agenda for the next NSMC Meeting in early September with the hope of this speeding up the process. Andrew Duncan asks if there is a specific timeframe in which the departments have to stick to, it was discussed that it could take up to 18 months to appoint a new CEO. John Pollock advised the Board Members that Derick Anderson had been asking after all of them and wished them well. John added that the DFP still haven’t paid the lump sum to Derick therefore the Agency had to pay this amount. 7. Directors Reports Corporate Services John Pollock, Acting CEO provided the Board with the following report: Financial Statements & Audit The Staff of the Agency have continued to work on the Internal Audit findings which resulted in their “limited” rating. Several of the recommendations have been already rectified, require legislative change or are out of the control of the Agency. An updated table on progress to date will be provided to the Board. External Audit commenced their audit on the draft 2012 Financial Statements in March and is nearing completion. Their management points when available will be brought forward to a future Audit Sub Committee / Board meeting. The C&Ags office in the South have to review the financial statements before final sign off and this is anticipated to be complete in the next few weeks. 2012 Annual Report The draft report is currently being considered by both Sponsor Departments. North South Ministerial Council The next North South Ministerial Council Sectoral is scheduled for 22 October 2013 and the meeting will be to coincide with the Turner Prize. Staffing There is currently only 1 vacancy – CEO Post Advisory Forum The next plenary forum meeting is scheduled for 1st October. Business Plan 2013 A final draft of the plan has cleared by both Sponsor Departments and has been forwarded to Finance Departments for approval following the receipt of the guidance from the Departments of Finance. It is hoped that the formal approvals will be given at the North South Ministerial Council Sectoral meeting in October. Corporate Plan 2014-16 and Business Plan 2014 No guidance received yet from the Departments of Finance on format or budget availability. However the Agency has initiated the drafting of the plans in the interim based on the previous guidance. Review of Financial Memorandum No further progress to report on this issue. The review of the Financial Memorandum was initiated in 2010, Agency still awaits formal notification from the Departments of Finance. Sponsor Departments to agree an interim amendment to the tendering thresholds to mirror those of the Departments and Central Procurement Directorate pending word from the Finance Departments and the Agency has written to both Sponsor Department asking for an update on progress. North South Pension Update No further progress to report on this issue – the Economic Appraisal on the Agency joining the N/S Pension Scheme has been cleared by both Sponsor Departments and is currently been considered by both Finance Departments. Omagh Office The Omagh regional office is no longer fit for purpose and may have health and safety implications for the staff that currently use it. It is estimated to clear the site and replace it with a fit for purpose building will be in the region of £400k. The funds are not available in the Agency’s capital budget and both Sponsor departments have been written to for advice on how to take this forward. Aquaculture and Shellfisheries Barry Fox, Director of Aquaculture and Shellfisheries provided the Board with the following report: 1. Native Oyster Fishery In light of audit recommendations and requirements a new “Policy and Procedure for the Native Oyster Fishery” has been developed. The document outlines all of the required steps which must be undertaken and appropriately documented during the opening and running of the season annually. Below is a summary of the fishery opening procedure and licence application review procedure. Action Comment Staff Member(s) Notes Preparation Order logbooks In accordance with Sarah financial memorandum Order oyster rings In accordance with Sarah financial memorandum Order tags In accordance with Sarah financial memorandum Write advert Sarah Write application form Sarah Place advert In 4 newspapers and on Sarah website Application Process Applicants collect Prehen, Greencastle or application forms Download Completed Applications Prehen returned 1. Envelope date Front office staff stamped 2. Envelope in safe Front office staff box 3. Receipt issued Front office staff Processing First Check Sarah and Michael 1. Check all Sarah and Michael Receipt number / postal register number applications and year to be used as unique reference against receipt number e.g. NOY_2013/14_0001 book 2. Complete ledger Sarah and Michael Name address of applicant and receipt number (unique reference number) 3. Check all Sarah and Michael supporting documents present 4. Check all Sarah and Michael sections of application completed Second Check Barry ++ Repeat steps 3 and 4 Issue of Licences Compile Licence packs Sarah and Michael Successful applicants only a) Legislation Sarah and Michael b) Logbook Sarah and Michael c) Oyster Ring Sarah and Michael d) Pre paid Sarah and Michael envelopes e) Licence Sarah and Michael f) Tags Sarah and Michael Complete Ledger Sarah and Michael Record Logbook number and tag numbers in Ledger against relevant applicant Letter sent to successful Barry To inform them that they can collect licence applicants pack Successful applicants to Prehen or set days Michael ++ Photographic ID copy to be taken by LA collect licences in person Greencastle staff Licence holders sign ledger All the preparations for the 13/14 fishery have been made and the closing date for applications has past (31st July). At first count there are 60 licence applications. Aquaculture & Shellfish staff have completed the first check of application on the 15.8.13 in accordance with the new Policy and Procedures for the Native oyster fishery. The AGM for the native oyster fishery is scheduled to be held at the Redcastle Hotel on 29th August 2013 at 7 pm. The meeting will include presentations from Cass Bromley (IBIS) on ongoing enhancement work; Ciaran McGonigle on the status of the fishery and Sarah McLean on ongoing MSC Certification. 2. Pathways The Pathway project is still in progress. All the projects and aims have been developed and the costing and staff times have been revised to reflect the new shorter project time. The Ireland team are in the process of organising stakeholder meetings to firm up stakeholder involvement and to concrete actions. It is hoped that the stakeholder meetings will e completed in early September. 3. Hygiene sampling Hygiene sampling continues to run smoothly. There have been a number of breaches and out with results from both Loughs over the summer months as a result of the warm weather and toxic algal blooms. However, results are not as dramatically above the norm as were observed in the summer of 2012. Sample schedules are only set until the end of September as new regulations may come about as a result of a review of shellfish hygiene sampling techniques at the Food Standards Agency National level. These proposed new regulations may see all sampling move from monthly to weekly. 4. Oyster Festival Sarah McLean, David Clarke, Donal Cassidy, Gillian Simpson and Simon Canning ran the Loughs Agency touch tank at the Carlingford Oyster Festival on the 10th and 11th August 2013. The team set up a mobile rock pool in the touch tank and populated it with creatures found in rock pools from the shores of Carlingford Lough. Amongst the many creatures on display were; mussels, oysters, common starfish, shore and brown crabs, 15-spinned sticklebacks, a variety of anemones, hermit crabs and a number of small fish species. The tank provided the visitors with a unique opportunity to not only see the animals but also touch them and learn a little more about the diverse ecology of Carlingford’ shores. The event also provided an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about aquaculture and shellfisheries in the Lough and about where the mussels and oysters they had eaten that day came from! The event was a huge success with between 1500 and 2000 visitors coming to the tank over the two days.