Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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91. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a premium is applied to steer and suckler beef and not to heifers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16027/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Single Payment Scheme, which was replaced by the Basic Payment Scheme in 2015, was implemented in Ireland in 2005. It replaced the following coupled Schemes: Suckler Cow Premium Scheme; Ewe Premium Scheme; Special Beef Premium Scheme; Slaughter Premium; Arable Aid Scheme; Dairy Premium Scheme; Sugar Beet Compensation; and National Envelope top-ups.

The amount of the Single Payment was based on the payments made to farmers under the above Schemes during the historical 2000 to 2002 reference period. The Special Beef Premium Scheme applied to steers and bulls and under the provisions of the governing EU Regulations, heifers were not eligible for payment under this Scheme. However, heifers over eight months of age were entitled to payment under the EU Slaughter Premium Scheme and heifers were also payable under some of the National Envelope top-ups. Both payments under the Slaughter Premium and the National Envelope top-ups were incorporated in the Single Payment Scheme.

A vibrant and high-quality national beef herd is manifestly crucial to the success and prosperity of the Irish beef sector. To this end, my Department and the agencies under its remit continue to provide an array of financial and infrastructural supports to underpin production in the beef sector, including through the new Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP).The Deputy will be aware that for 2015, I have secured €52 million in funding for the Beef Data and Genomics Programme which will be used to deliver accelerated improvement in the environmental sustainability of the beef herd through the application of genomics technology.

I will be launching this scheme very shortly and participants will be paid for work carried out in a range of areas related to data recording and animal breeding policies, such as recording a range of data relating to performance criteria and animal events, taking tissue (DNA) samples from selected animals and sending onwards for laboratory testing, completing an on-farm Carbon Navigator, and selecting high quality replacement bulls and heifers over the six years of the BDGP contract. I am confident that this Programme will allow farmers to manage their enterprises in a more environmentally sustainable manner, support the highest standards of quality in the national suckler herd and establish Ireland at the global forefront in the application of genomics technology in beef production.