Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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502. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to amend the existing suckler cow scheme to incentivise farmers and consolidate herds with a payment similar to the French subsidy of €200 per cow. [4503/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am keenly aware of the significance of the suckler sector to Ireland's rural economy and the wider agri-food industry. My Department currently provides a range of supports to the suckler herd. A number of direct payment and grant schemes provide vital income and investment support to the suckler sector, including BPS, ANC, GLAS and TAMS.

The Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) is the main support specifically targeted for the suckler sector, which provides Irish beef farmers with some €300 million in funding over the current Rural Development Programme period. Responding to significant demand, last year I reopened the BDGP programme for new entrants, reflecting the success of this programme, which targets both the environmental footprint and the profitability of the suckler herd through improving the genetic merit in participating herds. There are currently approximately 25,000 herds covered between the two schemes.

Whilst France retained a coupled suckler payment from 2005, Ireland chose the option of decoupling Pillar I direct payments from production to allow producers respond appropriately to changing markets. This approach and the range of supports as currently configured represents a balance between direct income support for the sector and rural development measures designed to improve its competitiveness and sustainability.

Any introduction of a coupled suckler cow payment under Pillar I would necessitate a linear reduction in all farmer's existing BPS of approximately €175 million, based on the number of suckler cows in the most recent AIM statistics, to fund such a scheme.