Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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213. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration has been given to proposals (details supplied) by an organisation. [2286/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is evaluating relevant measures to feed into the next iteration of the CAP. Decisions on all aspects will be informed by the final outcome of CAP negotiations at EU level, the available budget, empirical data and extensive stakeholder consultation. The organisation referred to by the Deputy has made a submission as part of my Department's public consultation process. All such submissions will be considered in the context of developing a National CAP plan.

I will continue to argue for as strong a CAP budget as possible, post-2020. In particular, I am committed to ensuring that suckler farmers continue to receive strong support in the next CAP. My view is that such payments should support and encourage suckler farmers to make the best decisions possible to improve the profitability, and the economic and environmental efficiency, of their farming system.

Earlier this year I was pleased to secure an allocation of €20 million in the 2019 Budget 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. This data will be used to target improvements on a herd basis by giving the farmer detailed feedback on the performance of individual animals. The data collected will also be a valuable addition to Ireland's already impressive database on cattle genomics.

I am also confident that suckler farmers will be significant beneficiaries of the additional €23 million in funding which I announced in Budget 2019 for the Areas of Natural Constraint scheme.

The Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) provides Irish beef farmers with some €300 million in funding over the current Rural Development Programme (RDP) period. This will improve the environmental sustainability of the national suckler herd by increasing genetic merit. In addition to the BDGP, other supports which are available for beef farmers under Pillar II of the CAP include GLAS, ANCs and Knowledge Transfer Groups. Suckler farmers also benefit from the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and Greening payments under CAP Pillar I.