Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The objective of the beef exceptional aid measure was to provide temporary exceptional adjustment aid to farmers in the beef sector in Ireland subject to the conditions set out in the European Commission implementing regulation.  This aid was granted to provide temporary market adjustment support in response to a specific market disturbance as outlined in Ireland's notification to the European Commission.  As part of the notification and approval process for the measure, the 5% reduction was part of the conditionality sought by the EU.

Approved BEAM participants have given a commitment to reduce the production of bovine livestock manure nitrogen on their farms by 5% for the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021, compared with the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.  The most recent analysis of nitrates trends in participating herds indicates that two thirds of participants have already started to make adjustments to reduce their nitrates, with almost half the participants meeting that 5% reduction already.

Participants can access their most recent nitrates figures via the exceptional aid measure link when they log in to agfood.ie. Following recent discussions with stakeholders, provision is now being made to display the updated figure monthly, as Deputy McNamara suggests. This change will allow participating farmers to more accurately monitor the effect changes they have made on their farm have had on their nitrates figures.  The Department's staff have made arrangements for the relevant data to be generated and the changes to the online display to provide monthly updates is expected to be in place for the start of November. Participants who need advice on how to manage their reduction can contact the Department or consult an agricultural adviser to work out which changes will make most sense on their farm.

See this speech in context