The Government has made a provision of €52m for the BDGP in 2015. It forms part of the country’s draft Rural Development Programme and will have a budget of approximately €300m over a period of 6 years. The cost related to genotyping will be approximately €7 million or about 15% of the funds provided. This is the same percentage of payments as under the 2014 scheme. The BDGP will accelerate improvement in the crucial area of environmental sustainability in the national herd through the application of genomic technology and will bring about long-term strategic improvements to the sector by fundamentally improving the genetic quality of the beef herd. It will also position Ireland as a global forerunner in the application of genomics technology and confirm our reputation as one of the most important and renowned export focussed beef producing nations in the world.
Participants in the programme will receive a payment of €142.50 per hectare for the first 6.66 payable hectares under the scheme, and €120 per payable hectare after that. Payment to scheme participants is on basis of costs incurred and income foregone for each of the actions undertaken. All of the costs to the farmer, including in terms of time and effort, have been factored into the payment for the farmer as agreed with the European Commission. The payment includes a cost associated with the tissue tag sample and subsequent processing, and this will be deducted at source from the farmer’s payment.
Costs associated with training and the advisor’s costs associated with completing the carbon navigator are paid separately from the €142.50 and €120 per hectare payment the farmer will receive. The cost of completing a carbon navigator in conjunction with an approved advisor will be covered separately and will not be deducted from the farmer’s payment. The farmer will also be provided with an additional €166 to compensate for the time and travel costs associated with attending the training course. As the Deputy notes, the ICBF will have a key role to play in facilitating the scheme in the same way as my Department has collaborated with that organisation for the Beef Genomics Scheme and the Beef Data Programme in recent years. Estimates provided by the ICBF for the costs of undertaking the individual actions are in line with the previous schemes although the overall payment will increase in line with the increased volume of work being undertaken. These costs will continue to be agreed bilaterally, in advance, between my Department and the ICBF.
Finally, as I said at the launch of the scheme, it marks another major milestone in positioning Ireland as a world leader in climate friendly agriculture and is a unique opportunity for some 35,000 suckler farmers spread right throughout Ireland. I am confident it will significantly improve efficiency at farm level in Ireland.
