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

I think there was disquiet at the start, but it is wrong to say there is considerable disquiet now. The disquiet I have now is that more people want to get into the scheme. They want to know if it is fully subscribed and if we will reopen it. That is the pressure I have been getting. I accept there was considerable concern at the start, especially in understanding the star rating system and whether there were penalties for farmers who could not achieve their targets in a few years time. However, many farmers have been reassured by the public meetings we have held in recent weeks where most of the questions were answered.

If there are continuing problems with the scheme, we will fix them. We will have a mid-term review of the scheme. We will have a committee to which the farming organisations and officials will contribute to ensure we iron out any problems. I have no agenda to try to catch out farmers. This is about putting in place a scheme that uses the science of genomics to help farmers make much more informed decisions about how they breed their animals in order that we can improve the quality of the herd.

It is also a climate change measure because the better the breeding in the suckler beef herd, the faster animals will grow and the better confirmation, fertility rates, ease of calving and temperament they will have from a farm safety point of view, so this is a win-win for everybody. We will spend between €300 million and €350 million on this.

I will answer some of the Deputy's questions now. I may have to come back later. I want to reassure people.

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