Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
803. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has engaged with the European Commission regarding the BEAM scheme to seek flexibility with regard to farmers that did not avail of a reference year deferral and did not meet the scheme required nitrates reductions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43596/21]
View answerThe Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) provided 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 was funded by a combination of EU aid and Exchequer support. It was provided to support Irish beef farmers who saw beef prices fall as a result of disturbance to the market.
One of the conditions under which the €50 million was granted by the EU was that there had to be an element of re-structuring built into the scheme. Accordingly, in applying for BEAM, participants agreed to reduce the production of bovine livestock manure nitrogen on their holding by 5% for the period 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 as compared with the period 1st July 2018 to 30th June 2019.
Following engagement with the EU Commission regarding flexibility around the deadline for meeting the 5% reduction, I secured the introduced of an option on Agfood.ie on 19th March 2021 to choose an alternative reduction period of 1st January 2021 - 31st December 2021. This was to give farmers every chance of meeting the requirements of the scheme and one I fought hard for. The option to select this facility remained open until midnight on 21st June 2021 with more than 16,000 applying. There is no facility to apply for the alternative reduction period at this stage.
Where a BEAM participant who opted to defer has met the 5% bovine Nitrates reduction within the original reduction period (1st July 2020 - 30th June 2021), my Department has written to them advising them that they are being removed from the deferment period (1st January 2021 - 31st December 2021) assuming they have met all the other requirements of the BEAM as set out in section 7 of the BEAM Terms and Conditions.
