Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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236. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of participants in each year of the knowledge gateway scheme since its establishment; the amount allocated and expended in each year, respectively; and the budget allocations for 2018, in tabular form. [8026/18]

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.  Department approved agricultural consultants acting as Knowledge Transfer Facilitators administer groups operating over a three year period. Facilitators who complete all of the requirements of the programme receive a payment of €500 per participant for each year of the three year programme and participants who complete all of the requirements of the programme receive a payment of €750 per annum.

A breakdown of the number of applications received for the Knowledge Transfer Programme is provided in the table.

Payments commenced at the end of October 2017 for participants who successfully completed all elements of Year One of the Programme.  To date €16.7 million has been paid in respect of  13,740 participants and their respective facilitators.