Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for coming in today to discuss the Revised Estimates. Will the Minister outline the key differences between the Revised Estimates and the Estimates provided after the budget? This meeting is happening against the backdrop of Brexit and, over recent months, a crisis facing the beef sector. Permission was granted from the EU to increase permissible state aid from €15,000 to €25,000 five or six weeks ago, but our beef sector in particular has been in crisis for a number of months. Many finishers have been losing their shirts. There must be immediate support for those farmers, especially those involved with finishing cattle who have lost significant money. It is affecting the sector as a whole, and unless there is some support from the Government and this Department in particular, the beef sector will be further undermined. The Minister has mentioned a number of times how welcome is the increase in permissible state aid. That is of no use unless we assist farmers. Has the Minister considered this and can we expect to see something immediately from the Department to provide support to the beef sector?

Will the Minister speak to the BEEP uptake? In his contribution he did not outline how many farmers availed of it, how far that number is off target and where we are with the associated budget.

I would also like the Minister to flesh out how the €1 million in associated estimates in regard to weighing and will be spent and to comment on whether it will be sufficient to ensure there is not a burden on farmers who are participating in regard to the cost of weighing.

In regard to the targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS, and projected spend in that regard, I note the current round is due to expire at the end of April and that uptake in regard to projects was very slow initially. In terms of the Department's future projections in regard to this scheme, is sufficient funding in place to meet likely demand in the future?

In regard to the 2018 outgoings, was there an underspend in the Department's overall allocation? If so, what happened to that underspend?

In respect of Brexit and preparations in this regard, the Department outlined plans last September to hire 116 veterinary inspectors. Earlier in the summer, it had announced that 300 veterinary inspectors would be hired. What progress has been made in regard to the hiring of those inspectors? I note that a few weeks ago, the Department advertised in the public press for private veterinary practitioners to indicate their interest to be available to work in the ports and points of entry in the event of a hard Brexit. I took from that that there has been no progress made in regard to the hiring of veterinary inspectors. I ask the Minister to provide further detail in this regard.

In regard to the Brexit loan scheme, which was finally announced last week but was initially announced under budget 2018 in October 2017, will the Minister outline what happened to the funding that was allocated in budget 2018 for this scheme? Was it used elsewhere or carried forward?