Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 29 Nov 2001

Vol. 545 No. 3

Written Answers. - National Beef Envelope.

Jack Wall

Question:

11 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he has made a final decision as to the way in which the £8.2 million available under the 2002 national beef envelope will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30151/01]

John Moloney

Question:

12 Mr. Moloney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the amount of funding to be made available in the national beef envelope for 2002; the way in which these funds are to be targeted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30058/01]

John V. Farrelly

Question:

22 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will allocate the extra £8.2 million which has been approved as a top-up for the national beef envelope in 2001 to young trained farmers under 35 years of age and allocate this on their suckler cow premium; his views on whether such allocation would clearly indicate the Government's commitment to improving the incomes of young farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27098/01]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 12 and 22 together.

There will be approximately £24.6 million available from the national envelope under Agenda 2000 in 2002 for distribution among beef producers. This compares with £16.4 million available for the current year which was used to top-up the slaughter premium for beef breed heifers and to top-up the suckler cow premium in respect of replacement suckler cows in order to encourage a more rapid replacement of suckler cows.

Consultations on the allocation of the national envelope have just been completed between my Department and various farming organisations, some of whom have put forward specific proposals, including the prioritising of young farmers. While I support the objective of targeting young farmers and have implemented a range of measures to achieve this, there are administrative difficulties which preclude the use of the national envelope in this way.

I propose to continue with the top-up on the slaughter premium on the beef breed heifers which I introduced for 2000 to encourage quality beef production. I have also decided to retain the top-up on replacements within the context of the suckler cow premium scheme which I introduced for this year. The objective of this top-up is to encourage farmers to replace their suckler cows more rapidly than at present and so improve the overall quality of the breeding herd.

I have decided to use the additional £8.2 million which becomes available for 2002 to top-up the suckler cow premium in respect of dry heifers submitted for the suckler cow premium up to a maximum of 15% of suckler cow quota held by producers.

This approach will assist those farmers who will be affected by the more restrictive interpretation by the EU Commission of the new requirements on producers with 14 or more suckler cows to include heifers for at least 15% of their suckler cow application. The level of the top-up will depend on the number of eligible heifers submitted for the premium but should be at least £60 per head.