Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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1238. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to assist farmers with the costs associated with the establishment and ongoing running costs of producer organisations. [36700/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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At the Beef RoundTable in 2015, a commitment was made to legislate for the recognition of Producer Organisations (POs) in the beef sector. This initiative was supported by all sectoral stakeholders and in February of 2016 a Statutory Instrument (The European Union (Beef Producer Organisations) Regulations 2016 S.I. No 49 of 2016  was signed into law to give a legal basis for my Department to maintain a register of recognised POs in the beef sector.

The recognition of POs will encourage primary beef producers to form Producer Organisations and allow farmers to engage collectively with processors. The ultimate aim is to ensure the viable development of production by strengthening farmers' bargaining power with downstream operators.

In order to assist groups of primary producers who wish to become recognised Producer Organisations, an application to the European Commission as part of the second amendment to Ireland’s RDP has been submitted, which provides for the funding of start-up activities for Producer Organisations in the Beef Sector.  Funding will be provided for prospective POs to engage a facilitator to help with recruitment and start-up activities. Advisors will fall into one of two categories; giving advice on setup of the PO’s statutes, fulfilling Department requirements etc, or advice on business planning and membership recruitment. Payment for advice in each of these areas will be capped at €1,500 in accordance with the provisions of the RDP regulation. My officials are currently in the process of finalising a Request For Tender which will be published shortly, to provide these services.