Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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242. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding a farm scheme. [5159/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Knowledge Transfer is one of a suite of measures included under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 and involves the formation of knowledge transfer groups across the beef, dairy, equine, sheep, tillage and poultry sectors. Farmer participants attend group meetings and produce a Farm Improvement Plan in consultation with their KT Facilitator. For each year of the three year programme participants receive a reimbursement in the amount of €750 for a primary sector and €375 for a secondary sector where all requirements of the programme have been met.

Payments under the programme commenced in late October 2017. To date circa €10.1 million has issued to 13,700 farmers. Officials in my Department are currently examining a number of partnership cases to ensure that there is a data match between individual Farm Improvement Plans and the individual farmer within the Register of Farm Partnerships. Every effort is being made to complete this process with a view to paying affected farmers as soon as possible.