Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is on the button with this question, which is being asked throughout the country, regarding the new suckler carbon efficiency programme, which replaces the suckler welfare scheme. This decision was made in the strategic interest of improving our suckler and beef herd and especially the value of the animals we sell and market abroad. Origin Green, the Bord Bia quality assurance programme, was initiated in 2011. It was way ahead of its time and came long before the sustainability discussion became so mainstream. It has put us in a strong position internationally in terms of the offering we have. We can now go abroad and, if a product has been Origin Green approved, we are able to get ahead, not just because of the quality of our product but also because of the assurances we can give as to how it has been produced. We can get onto the shelves ahead of competing countries because of what we have there, and we need to continue to build on that.

The decision to bring significant additional national funds to this scheme means the payments under the new suckler cow scheme will be €150 per cow for the first 22 cows, compared with €90 for the first ten in the previous scheme. In bringing those additional national funds to the table, we made the strategic decision we would make it a requirement of participating in the scheme to be Bord Bia quality assured.

Overall, it will also enhance the value of the suckler product whenever it is sold abroad and whenever we bring it onto the shelves. It will also deepen the amount of quality assured farms we have in the country. At the moment, if it is on a quality assured farm for the last 90 days, it qualifies as quality assured. We must broaden the scheme as we go forward to make sure we stay ahead of other competing nations and to make sure our produce stays on the shelves ahead of that of other countries. This means it needs to be more than the final 90 days. We need to try to ensure more suckler farmers are quality assured as well. This is why the decision was taken.

See this speech in context