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

I will arrange to have that done.

With regard to the agri-environment schemes, budget 2015 provides for the introduction of GLAS - the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme. As older schemes run their course, the associated financial requirement continues to reduce. A total of €52 million will be paid to nearly 17,000 farmers under the rural environment protection scheme, REPS, in 2015, while a further €70 million will be paid under the agri-environment options scheme, AEOS.In terms of GLAS, I am delighted to be able to provide for 30,000 new applicants over the course of 2015. These will be paid on a part-year basis for 2015, with contracts running thereafter for a full additional five years. I am continuing strong support for areas of natural constraint, ANCs, previously the disadvantaged areas scheme, by allocating €195 million in 2015.

There is a really strong package for beef worth €73.8 million. Beef farmers have had a difficult year, following a decline in prices from the high levels in 2013. Providing the type of support that can contribute to restoring confidence in the sector has been a priority for me. In this context, I am pleased to announce a package of supports for the beef sector worth in excess €73 million next year, of which the main element is the beef genomic scheme, for which €52 million has been allocated. We recognise the fact that it is more expensive for smaller farmers per head than for large beef farmers. We are proposing, subject to Commission approval, that the farmer receive €100 per head per calved cow for the first ten animals and €80 per head thereafter. This is a significant concession when one considers that three years ago, under the suckler cow welfare scheme, farmers were getting €40 per suckler cow. It will now be €100 per head for nearly 300,000 animals, almost half the number of animals that will be in the scheme.

Other supports in the beef sector include: €1.6 million for the Irish Cattle Breeders Federation, ICBF; €9 million for the beef data programme; €5 million in payments under the beef technology adoption programme; €6 million for the beef quality assurance scheme and €3.8 million for the marketing and processing fund.

In the sheep sector I am providing funding for a third year of the sheep technology adoption programme, or discussion groups as they known. A sum of €4 million is provided for the programme in 2015, including €l million in respect of payments under the 2014 scheme. We will also be doing something under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, for sheep from early next year. We are effectively decoupling the €15 million sheep grassland scheme this year to incorporate it into the sheep farmer's single farm payment to ensure they do not lose it.

In the dairy sector I will launch a new dairy equipment scheme to support the sector in its expansion plans in the light of the removal of milk quotas next year. This is part of the €34 million TAMS II allocation in the budget. Next year will be a momentous one in Irish agriculture as Irish farmers will be free of the shackles of dairy quotas. They will have the opportunity to expand and benefit from economies of scale, if they deem it appropriate for their business plans.

From TAMS II funding there will be a special allocation for the pigs and poultry sectors, reflecting the need for investment in them. As we move closer to January and February, when we will introduce the new TAMS, we will hold a consultation process with farming organisations on the exact allocation from the figure of €34 million.

Separately, we are allocating €12 million for a farm safety scheme. There have been many tragedies on farms this year and I hope similar tragedies can be avoided by farmers investing in their farms to de-risk their farmyards. We will provide 40% grant aid for items such as covers on slurry pits, the replacement of cracked or broken slats in sheds, to improve grip on the ground and carry out a series of practical actions such as providing hand rails and so forth on farmyards which could reduce the likelihood of injury or fatality.

Yesterday was a big day for the horse and greyhound sector. For a number of years I have promised that when new revenue comes to the Government from an online betting tax which will be introduced shortly, the horse racing and greyhound industries will secure a direct benefit from it. Next year there will be an increase of €14 million in one year in the horse and greyhound fund. That is an extraordinary commitment to the sector, but it is value for money. We will raise approximately €25 million extra for the Exchequer from the online and remote betting tax and we will put some of that revenue back into the sector that is generating the revenue. The sector needs it, given the cuts it has experienced in the past six or seven years.

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