Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 February 2024
327. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the promised changes to the income supplement scheme under the Bovine TB Programme will come into effect, whereby the date of eligibility for income supplement would be the date of restriction, and these changes will be backdated to 1 February 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4731/24]
View answerIn 2023, as part of the ongoing work of the TB Forum, agreement was reached at the Financial Working Group, a dedicated group comprising of Department officials and Key stakeholders, on a number of enhancements to the suite of compensation measures available to farmers who experience a TB breakdown,
Officials from my Department have been working to implement the necessary changes to our IT systems which reflect all of the agreed changes.
I am pleased to confirm that the the agreed enhancements to the On Farm Market Valuation Scheme and Depopulation Grant are now operational. All eligible herd owners will have received balancing payments in respect of the changes to these two schemes.
In addition to the above, I can confirm that the necessary system upgrades in relation to the Hardship Grant have recently been finalised and work is currently underway at regional level, assessing herds for eligibility under the scheme and processing payments where applicable.
Work is ongoing in respect of the Income Supplement Scheme IT system updates, and is now at an advanced stage.
One of the main agreed changes, is that the eligibility date for Income Supplement will now be linked with the date that the required percentage of animals are identified as reactors, replacing the previous criteria which linked eligibility to the later date of the removal of the required percentage of reactors.
While eligibility may coincide with the date of restriction in some cases, it will depend on the date which the required percentage of animals are identified in a herd, which may be after a 60 day reactor re-test.
In the interim, while the IT updates are being finalised, all eligible herds will continue to receive the previously agreed flat rates to ensure continuity of financial assistance from my Department. Once operational, the enhanced rates for the Income Supplement Scheme will be available immediately going forward and any eligible herd will receive a balancing payment in due course which will reflect the new rates back to their date of eligibility under the scheme or February 1st 2023, whichever is appropriate.
