Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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328. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if suckler farming will be strongly supported and prioritised for increased targeted direct supports of up to €200 per cow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18685/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am very much aware of the importance of the beef sector to Ireland’s rural economy and of the challenges faced by suckler farmers. It is a sector that I intend to ensure receives the continued support of my Department both at this time and into the future. There are a number of supports currently in place for the sector under the Rural Development Programme not least the €300 million Beef Data and Genomics Programme. This scheme builds upon the substantial investment in data recording and genomics which has been made in recent years and will continue to drive further developments and improvements in this area.

The question of targeted supports of up to €200 per suckler cow is a complex one and could, for example, necessitate a redistribution of funds allocated to farmers under Pillar I. This would involve a linear cut across payments to all BPS beneficiaries.

In relation to funding under Pillar II of the CAP, the BDGP as already outlined is the current central support for the suckler sector and provides farmers with some €300 million of funding over the next six years. Increasing the level of payment under this scheme would require the approval of the EU Commission, and even if this were possible, would require the redistribution of funding from other rural development measures, and would require additional measures in an already complex scheme to justify any additional payments. I do not see this as a realistic option.

 It is vital that the current BDGP programme is supported through the lifetime of the current RDP. This is, of course, in addition to the other supports which are in place for suckler farmers under the RDP, notably GLAS, ANCs and Knowledge Transfer groups. I am strongly of the view that the current range of supports available to suckler farmers are the most appropriate way to support the continued development of this sector.