As indicated in reply to a previous Question regarding this case, the person named was initially found to be ineligible for payment under the 2012 Programme as it was established that he had failed to complete one of the two selected Tasks. However, upon review he was deemed eligible, as it transpired that he had satisfactorily completed a third Task. While the substitution of this third Task had not been notified to my Department beforehand, credit was allowed for its successful completion and, accordingly, payment under the 2012 Programme was made on that basis, as all other requirements of the Programme were successfully completed.
The Terms and Conditions of the 2012 Beef Technology Adoption Programme required participants to select two Tasks from the menu of eight Tasks, with provision for participants to notify a subsequent change of a selected Task. Following validation prior to payment under the 2012 Programme, 4,809 participants were confirmed as having satisfied the requirements of the Programme and were paid. Subsequently, the position of those who had not initially passed the validation process were re-examined, following which a further 683 participants were confirmed as eligible and were paid. A review process is a feature of the Schemes and Programmes operated by my Department.
The following information was provided under Standing Order 40A
I wish to supply additional information which I trust will clarify the issue. The person applied to join the 2012 Beef Technology Adoption Programme (BTAP). The Terms and Conditions of the 2012 BTAP required participants to select two tasks from the menu of eight tasks, with provision for participants to notify a subsequent change of a selected task. Following validation prior to payment under the 2012 Programme, 4,809 participants (but not the person (details supplied)) were confirmed as having satisfied the requirements of the Programme and were paid.
The person had selected two Tasks under the 2012 Programme (Tasks 6 and 8) and no third task was selected. The two tasks are as follows:
Task 6
Complete a herd health plan with a veterinary surgeon. Those availing of this option in 2012 must join the voluntary Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) eradication programme in that year (verification will be through ICBF). A sample template which may be utilised, if suitable, for this purpose in consultation with your veterinary surgeon is attached at Appendix III.
Task 8
Put a rotational grazing system in place on the farm with the minimum of 6 grazing divisions per grazing group and each division must have its own water supply. Grazing divisions may be through permanent fencing or through temporary electric fencing which may be rotated around the farm.
Following validation, the person was found to have failed Task 6, specifically two calves were not BVD tested, a requirement of the BVD eradication programme being that all calves be BVD tested. An official of this Department notified Minister of State Ring of the position on 7 March 2013.
Subsequent to this date, Mr Paud Evans, Principal Officer, authorised a general administrative review of those cases found ineligible following validation. Following the decision to review these unpaid cases, it was established from a file received from ICBF on 14 May 2013, that the person had effectively successfully completed Tasks 2 and 3; he was, therefore, deemed to be eligible under the 2012 Programme, notwithstanding that he had not selected either of these Tasks, nor had he sought to substitute either, or both, of the Tasks selected.
For information, Tasks 2 and 3 were as follows:
Task 2
Provide on farm certified weights to ICBF as specified below. Options for recording would include:
- Farmer recording of weights using scales owned by the farmer or group of farmers);
- Farmer recording of weights using scales provided by ICBF or an ICBF approved service provider (i.e. where the scales are rented from ICBF or an ICBF-approved service provider and the farmer does the recording himself);
- Technician recording of weights using scales provided by ICBF or an ICBF approved service provider (i.e. where the scales are operated by a technician working for ICBF or an ICBF-approved service provider).
Task 3
Increase the genetic merit of the herd by using one of the following:
- Use 5-star AI bulls on overall Suckler Beef Value (SBV) or on the maternal sub-index (within or across breed) on at least 25% of the beef cow herd;
- Participate in Gene Ireland; this will be verified by ICBF;
- Use a 5-star stock bull. A farmer must use a 5-star stock bull (5 stars within breed or across breed is acceptable) on overall SBV or on the maternal sub-index in his herd. The task is a qualifying one for one year only i.e. it cannot be selected by a participant in more than one year of the Programme;
- Improve maternal traits in the herd by using heifers that have 4 stars for daughter fertility or for daughter milk (or equivalent on any future development of the maternal Beef indexes). For the purposes of this task, a farmer must replace 15% of his herd (based on number of cows in the herd) with heifers who have 4 stars for either daughter milk or daughter fertility to satisfy this requirement. (This option will be available from 2013).
The person’s case was one of 683 participants in the 2012 Programme who were similarly deemed eligible on review and subsequently paid in July 2012. The reply given to PQ 51099 of 27th November 2013 was based on this information.
I am conscious of the need to reply in an accurate and timely manner to all Parliamentary Questions. On face value, it would appear that contradictory replies were given in March and November of this year, but the crucial change arises from the information provided by ICBF in May which allowed the July payment to the person based on their validation of his application. Minister Ring would not have been aware of this change to the person’s payment status.
