Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2013
122. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason he targeted the budget cuts at low income drystock farmers in sucklers and sheep, through the abolition of the suckler cow welfare scheme and the imposition of a 22% cut in the grassland sheep scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6961/13]
View answerI do not accept the Deputy’s contention that I have targeted low income drystock farmers in budget 2013. The reality is that in a situation where the schemes concerned were approaching the end of their projected periods of operation and in a challenging budgetary environment, I secured continued significant additional support targeted at these sectors, which will build on the progress achieved in the earlier schemes.
The suckler cow welfare scheme was intended to be a five year scheme for beef animals born in herds owned by eligible participants during the period, which commenced on 1 January 2008 and ended on 31 December 2012, and delivered in excess of €150 million to those participating. I have made funding of €10 million available in 2013 to continue to make aid payments on calves born in the latter half of 2012 to ensure residual obligations under the scheme are paid in full. In addition, I have allocated another €10 million in 2013, financed from unspent single farm payment funds, for a new support programme for suckler beef farmers to participate in a new beef data programme. This programme will assist farmers in improving the genetic quality of Irish cattle and maintain the data flow into the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation to build further knowledge and more rapid progress in breeding and, ultimately, profitability for farmers.
By way of further support to the beef sector, I announced that the beef technology adoption programme, or beef discussion groups, would be retained in 2013. This programme is built on the lessons of the dairy efficiency programme and provides a €5 million financial stimulus to encourage, through the medium of professionally facilitated discussion groups and a task-oriented approach, the adoption of a more focused commercial approach to beef farming.
In total, therefore, I have made provision for the payment of aid amounting to €25 million to the beef sector in 2013 which speaks for itself in terms of the Government’s commitment to the sector. I remind the Deputy that last year we only spent €27 million.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
Turning to the grassland sheep scheme, this scheme, as originally implemented, was to run for three years, 2010, 2011 and 2012, with an annual budget of €18 million. However, as the Deputy will be aware, I was in a position to secure funding which allowed the scheme to continue for a fourth year, notwithstanding the continued adverse budgetary conditions, albeit with adjusted funding of €14 million.
Direct aid payments are important, but it is time for the sheep sector to adapt and develop its enterprises in line with other sectors. In that regard, I have decided to make funding of €3 million available for a new sheep technology adoption programme, which concept has proved very successful in the dairy and beef sectors, with a maximum payment of €1,000 per participant. It is important that sheep farmers take action to increase and maximise their income from their enterprises. This can be achieved by improving breeding, animal health-welfare and grazing regimes. The dairy sector has demonstrated that the discussion group concept can achieve such improvements.
Notwithstanding the financial adjustment made to the overall funding for the grassland sheep scheme, hill sheep farmers who join a sheep discussion group will find that the aid they will receive in 2013 will increase by almost €590.
When the Minister found these unspent funds, he might explain the reason he did not use them to continue the existing suckler cow welfare scheme for bigger herds, with perhaps some limitations. He might also explain the difference between the suckler cow welfare scheme and the beef data programme? How will they differ from each other from the farmer's point of view?
There is a simple answer to that question - there was not enough available. We had been using unspent funds for the dairy discussion groups, on which we were spending approximately €6 million a year. I have taken this money from the dairy sector because it now has proof that such discussion groups work. The approximately 7,000 dairy farmers involved in discussion groups can see the benefits which we have measured. Many of them have improved their margins in the past three years by 3%, 4% and 5% as a result of running a better business. We decided that we would take the money and add to the €6 million some money from the sheep grassland scheme to provide a decent sum of money, €10 million, for a data transfer scheme in respect of the suckler herd. This makes a good deal of sense.
We used other money in the mainstream budget to introduce a €3 million sheep-discussion-group model to compensate for my taking of €4 million from the unspent money, that is, the €17 million that was being provided for a sheep grassland scheme. That made sense on many levels. However, we are putting almost as much money into sheep and suckler farming this year as we did last year although we have changed the way in which the schemes work somewhat. We are asking sheep farmers to buy into a discussion-group model.
With regard to unspent funds, there is but a limited amount that we can spend. We are trying to use it as effectively as possible to support the sector. Since I became Minister, I have said suckler farming is a considerably important part of the mix. At present, half our beef comes from that sector. Over the next five or ten years, as dairy farming grows in Ireland, we will not want to allow the beef sector to become a by-product of the dairy sector. We want the opposite, in fact, because all our top-quality beef comes from the suckler herd. This is why I will continue to try to support the suckler sector, be it through a new CAP reform process or in very tight budgetary times, such as those we are experiencing. This is why I found €10 million for a new scheme although the suckler cow welfare scheme had come to an end.
There is not a big ask for farmers. All we are asking them to do in order to avail of the money available - the €10 million under the data transfer scheme - is simply what they have already been doing under the suckler welfare scheme, that is, provide data on the fertility and health of their animals. The focus has been on breeding information because all the experts tell me this is most valuable. We are asking farmers to do an awful lot less and are continuing to give them a reasonable amount of money to do so.
The Minister is agreeing that the scheme was very good, encouraged best practice in farming and brought about significant improvements. While he says there is €10 million available, he must admit the funding is not nearly as attractive as it was. Sadly, it is the smaller farmer who is actually getting hit. The smaller farmer is forever wary of the fact that the IFA probably speaks more for the bigger farmer. Smaller farmers probably feel they are getting a raw deal. Does the Minister not agree?
I am glad the Deputy asked that question. We actually prioritise in favour of the small farmer in the new beef data transfer scheme we are introducing. We have said that farmers who enter the scheme will receive a payment of €20 per cow for the first 20 in their herd. It is the bigger farmers, who may have from 40 to 80 cattle, for example, who are losing out. They would have been getting strong financial support under the suckler cow welfare scheme. We deliberately prioritised the smaller farmers.
We are asking the smaller farmers to do a lot less now than they were asked to do before. What is actually happening is the opposite to what the Deputy is suggesting. We are spending €10 million, carried over from last year, on calves that were born in the second half of last year. The new €10 million scheme is targeting the first 20 cows. The average size of a suckler herd is 15 cows. The average herd size in the suckler cow welfare scheme is 18. Therefore, anyone with a herd of average size, or lower, will not lose out dramatically at all.
