Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the beef genomics scheme, I outlined earlier how that will work but essentially, any farmer with suckler cows who is also participating in the beef data programme, which is currently approximately 34,000 farmers, will be eligible to join the beef genomics scheme. The beef data programme will be opened to new participants as well in 2014. The farmer will receive €40 per calf under the beef genomics scheme. When added to the €20 per calf provided for on the beef data programme, that will mean €60 per calf for the farmer involved in the two amalgamated schemes. The farmer will be required to genotype about 15% of his or her cows by submitting samples to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF. Farmers who own a stock bull will also have to have it genotyped. The farmer will pay ICBF for the collection kit required for the animal selected for genotyping and for the cost of genotyping, estimated at €30 per animal genotype. Obviously, we will try to get down that cost down as much as we can.

Farmers with BVD permanently infected calves will have to commit to disposing of those calves. Essentially, that is how it will work. Only 15% of the animals will be required to be genotyped but the farmer will be paid the €60 per calf on all of their animals. In the new rural development programme, RDP, we are looking to increase that figure to €80. It will be the new beef genomic and data scheme in the new RDP, which essentially is what makes up the €40 and €20, the current €60 per calf. That will be increased to €80 per calf to make sure we incentivise as many farmers as we can, and we are planning to make that payment on about 650,000 calves in the suckler herd. We have budgeted for approximately €53 million.

To ensure people understand this, the idea behind this scheme is to try to help the suckler herd become more commercially viable and more profitable by building a national database that matches an animal's DNA with its likely performance. In other words, if a farmer is sending in performance data on his or her animals around ease of calving, confirmation and so on, and they have also data on that animal in terms of its genotype, its DNA, we will then be able to make much more accurate predictions as to how calves are likely to perform based on their DNA. We will also be able to give farmers much more accurate information in terms of breeding programmes and the kind of bull they should be using depending on the genotype of the animals they are breeding. This is about applying technology to improve our breeding programmes and to have a national database that can inform farmers to make decisions that will help them become more profitable in the marketplace.

While we need to give some income support in terms of the suckler farmer in Ireland, we are doing that while incentivising a change in behaviour that will help this sector in its entirety become more efficient and more profitable. That is the idea. When we add that to sexed semen technology and genomics technology, and no other country in the world is attempting to do this, we are in a position to get a much better understating and to provide more information that can allow farmers make more informed decisions in terms of their breeding programmes and the performance of their herds.

We always have to be cautious in regard to legal costs. People take us to court all the time. As the Deputy knows from the fishing industry, people challenge decisions we make all the time, therefore, we have to have enough money in the kitty in case we get a major legal challenge that we have to deal with in the year. We do not spend the money if we do not have to, which is the reason the outturn in terms of legal costs is much less than was anticipated, but we move budget lines from one line to another line if we can see that we will be underspent in the year. We can give the Deputy some detail on the overall underspend later if he wishes so that people can understand where the underspend was but there will always be some level of underspend in a Department.

Otherwise, one is flirting with over-expenditure, which the Department of Finance certainly does not tolerate easily. On the commercialisation of State bodies, the note I have to hand indicates it is to help State bodies to develop a more commercial approach and is matched by funding from Enterprise Ireland. I may need to send a more detailed note to the Deputy in this regard. The Department has a number of ways of doing this such as, for example, carrying out lean reviews, to examine the management performance within certain agencies linked to the Department to ascertain whether it is possible to drive greater efficiencies, get better value for money and so on. However, there is a separate funding line for the lean review process. My understanding is this is a fund to help the Department's non-commercial State bodies to develop a more commercial approach, which also involves Enterprise Ireland. However, I must send on further information on it to the Deputy because that is as much as I know.

In response to Deputy Hayden, not all research and training takes place under the auspices of Teagasc. The Department supports Teagasc with a significant budget each year and as the Deputy is aware, it has multiple roles, namely, education, research and development and consultancy for farming. Teagasc has these three areas of responsibility, all of which must be funded. In recent years, the major drive has been in respect of research and development, as well as trying to provide for an increasing educational need in agricultural colleges. For example, the Department sanctioned increased staff numbers to try to staff the agricultural colleges as numbers and demand for those courses have increased dramatically in recent years. Entirely separate to this, however, the Department has a competition for research and development funding in respect of food and forestry and it is a significant funding stream that supports research and development programmes across multiple universities in Ireland, as well as some research in Northern Ireland. They are two different funding financing mechanisms in respect of research and development with regard to agrifood and the food industry in general. I welcome the Deputy's comments on the horse and greyhound fund. I also seek a more sustainable model in that regard and the Department is working towards this through new legislation, which will be published shortly.

Deputy Penrose has left the meeting but in respect of Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM, the Department has deliberately increased that board's resources this year. We are at the beginning of an implementation process for the Common Fisheries Policy review, which will involve a lot of gear change for fishermen. We also are in the middle of a safety initiative for fishermen to try to make it a less tragic industry and, consequently, I considered that BIM needed increased resources to do both those things. I believe that to be the right decision and obviously, it only will spend money when it can get good value for money from it. I believe that covers everything.