Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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533. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the overview of the €20 million beef environmental efficiency pilot scheme introduced in budget 2019; the maximum payment per cow and weanling; and the estimated full year cost of increasing payments (details supplied) based on expected participation rates and forecast modelling on the payment per cow under BEEP. [42538/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department has provided €20 million in budget 2019 for a new pilot scheme for suckler farmers, specifically aimed at further improving the carbon efficiency of beef production. The Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) will target the weaning efficiency of suckler cows and calves - measuring the liveweight of the calf at weaning as a percentage of the cow's liveweight.

Building on the success of the Beef Data and Genomics Programme, the data collected will also be a valuable addition to Ireland's already impressive database on cattle genomics.

There is €20 million funding available for the scheme which is restricted to 500,000 head, which will allow for payment equivalent to €40 per cow. If the scheme is oversubscribed, selection criteria will be applied.

It is a pilot scheme for 2019 only, Exchequer funded and operated under State Aid de minimis provisions. There will be no additional measures/actions added to this pilot.

Details of the scheme will be announced in due course following further consultation. It is aimed to have the scheme in place for early summer 2019.