Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 September 2019
387. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the membership of a person (details supplied) in the hen harrier environmental scheme can be used as a qualifying criterion for the BEAM scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38271/19]
View answerThe object of the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) is to provide temporary exceptional adjustment aid to farmers in the beef sector in Ireland subject to the conditions set out in EU Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1132. BEAM is funded by a combination of EU aid and Exchequer support, provided in light of the difficult circumstances that Irish beef farmers have been facing as a result of market volatility and uncertainty.
Under the scheme, aid will be paid on adult cattle slaughtered between September 24, 2018, and May 12, 2019, at a rate of €100 per animal subject to a maximum of 100 finished animals per herd. Aid will also be paid on suckler cows that calved in 2018, at a rate of €40 per animal subject to a maximum of 40 sucklers per herd.
In order to be eligible for payment applicants needed to be a participant in one of the following schemes;
- Organic Farm Scheme (OFS)
- Green Low Carbon Agri-Environmental Scheme (GLAS)
- Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP)
- Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP)
or
- Be a participant or agree to join the Bord Bia – Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS)
The Hen Harrier Programme is not among the qualifying schemes as it cannot be directly linked to livestock production.
Applications for BEAM were accepted from the 19th August until the 20th September. As the closing date would have passed when this question is scheduled for reply, staff from my Department contacted the person named prior to the closing date to clarify their eligibility under the scheme and answer any queries they had.
