Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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453. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if payments have issued to participants in the knowledge transfer dairy programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17961/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Knowledge Transfer (KT) 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.

Approximately 19,100 farmers have actively participated in Year One of the Programme attending a range of Knowledge Transfer Group Meetings, Knowledge Transfer approved National Events and completing Farm Improvement Plans and Animal Health Measures.

To date, in excess of €1.9 million has been paid to over 2,500 of the approx 4,100 KT Dairy participants who had fully completed all requirements of year 1 of the KT Dairy Programme. Additional payments to KT Dairy participants are expected to issue shortly.