Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will introduce a compensation scheme for suckler producers whose herds have been infected by BVD and who have had multiple PIs taken out of their herd and undertake to ensure the continuation of the €100 compensation on the dams of PI calves plus reduced knackery charges for producers affected in 2013. [53440/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have received a request to provide funding in respect of the compulsory phase of the BVD programme. This request must be placed in the context of the economic benefits accruing to farmers arising from the eradication of this disease and, particularly, the short payback time involved as well as the budgetary resources available to my Department. It has been estimated that the overall benefit for the eradication of this disease is beneficial to farmers. I should also emphasise that it is important that my Department concentrates its scarce resources in continuing to support Animal Health Ireland in its ongoing work in establishing control programmes for non-regulated diseases of livestock in Ireland.