Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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511. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of suckler beef farmers per county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15462/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The number of herds in Ireland per county in 2016 that had a birth registered to one or more dams of a beef breed based on data from my Department’s Animal Identification and Movement system is as follows:

The suckler sector is a vital component of Ireland’s rural economy and the provision of support for it is of crucial importance. The current range of supports provided by my Department to suckler farmers represents a balance between direct income support and measures designed to improve its competitiveness and sustainability.

The Beef Data and Genomics Programme is firmly established and its benefits are already clearly being seen and its credibility as a progressive and meaningful scheme for suckler farmers is well known.

I am very conscious of the importance of improving the quality of the Irish suckler herd and the BDGP, along with other measures introduced by my Department such as the Mart Modernisation Scheme, are making a positive contribution to this. Commercial farmers making breeding decisions for their beef herds are now basing these on both economic and scientific data which are easily accessible to them when purchasing replacement stock using Eurostar data displayed at mart ringsides.

I will continue to ensure that as many markets for the produce of the Irish suckler herd both in live and processed form are opened to ensure a sustainable future for the Irish suckler herd.