Martin Ferris
Question:35 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement on the situation regarding the special beef premium. [25965/02]
Ceisteanna – Questions (Resumed). Priority Questions. - Grant Payments.
Special beef premium is payable on all male cattle over the age of seven months. It is payable twice in the lifetime of steers and once in the lifetime of bulls. The rates of payment in 2002 are €150 for first and second steer premium and €210 for bull premium. An extensification premium top-up payment of up to a further €80 followed by an €80 per head slaughter premium is payable at time of slaughter or export, bringing total potential payments over the lifetime of a steer to €540. This is equivalent to €1.93 per kilo on an average beef animal at slaughter. Each farmer may apply up to an individual limit of 180 animals per first and second age categories, making a total of 360 animals per producer.
The national quota for special beef premium is 1,028,153 animals and, in accordance with the relevant EU regulations, is based on the number of eligible animals for the first age and bull premium schemes. On the basis of the level of applications received up to the end of November and on a high level of applications continuing during December, it is likely that Ireland will exceed its national quota for 2002.
I thank the Minister for his very comprehensive answer. Does he agree that the penalties imposed as a result of exceeding the quota will aggravate the income crisis in farming this year? Does he agree that the sudden and unexpected announcement regarding penalties will cause a severe impact and will, in all probability, distort the calculations on which farmers have been relying? What steps can the Minister take to soften the effects of the penalties?
In the first instance, it is not a matter of what steps I take but, rather, what action individual farmers take. Applications are still coming in and each addition will make our national quota more likely to be exceeded. If individual farmers could defer their applications until next year, that would help us to remain within the national quota.
This has been known by everybody concerned for some time. If the national quota is exceeded, the number of first age category and bull premium animals on which premium is payable will be reduced to the national quota. In the event of a quota overrun, applicants who applied on 50 animals or less will be exempt from any reduction. The number of eligible animals on which premium will be paid to applicants, who applied on more than 50 animals in both categories combined, will be reduced by a rate determined to bring the number of eligible animals down to the level of the national quota. This rate of reduction will be applied to the first age, second age, bull and extensification premium payments.