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

This is a serious issue. I hope I have answered the questions on sheep farming. I answered questions on the beef sector for Deputy Martin Ferris, but I will respond to Deputy Mick Wallace. I am not targeting the small guys. The new scheme we are putting in place - a €10 million scheme - will ensure farmers with 20 or fewer suckler cows will receive payments on all of them. We made this provision deliberately to ensure smaller farmers would receive their payments first. The bigger farmers, with more than 20 animals, may receive payment on more than 20 animals, if there is money left over as I suspect there will be at the end of the process.

The other aspect is that the new scheme does not requires farmers to do anything other than transfer data relating to the breeding and fertility of their animals to the ICBF. We are not asking them to do all the other things they would have been paid for before. In other words, they are being asked to do a fraction of what they were asked to do before and they are being paid €20 per cow rather than €40 per cow. It is important for the Deputy to understand that the total amount of money going into the beef sector next year will not be very different from what went into the beef sector this year. That is because under the existing suckler cow welfare scheme, at least €10 million is to be paid next year in respect of calves that were born in the second half of this year. When that €10 million is taken with the €10 million we will spend on the new data transfer scheme and the €5 million we will spend on beef discussion groups - farmers will be given €1,000 to attend meetings and learn about how they can run their businesses more effectively - it means we will be spending €25 million on the beef sector next year. Most of that will be spent in the suckler beef sector. We spent approximately €27 million in the beef sector this year. It is important for farmers to get this into context. Since the budget, there has been a blunt focus on arguing that the abolition of the suckler cow welfare scheme is a disaster. I suggest there should be a concentration on what we are putting in place to replace it. The State will be putting almost as much money into the suckler sector next year as it has put into it this year. We are prioritising small farmers in that mix.

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