Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

220. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of sheep farmers that applied to the sheep EID tag subsidy scheme by 30 September deadline by county in tabular form; the process for reviewing applications; and the allocation for the scheme in 2019 and 2020. [41596/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Sheep EID Tag Subsidy Scheme was a one-off scheme introduced in acknowledgement of the additional costs associated with the extension of electronic identification to all sheep.

The scheme subsidised by €1 the cost of each electronic sheep tag purchased (up to a maximum of 100 tags) in the first sheep tag order completed by a keeper between 1 October 2018 and 30September 2019. The purchase of a minimum of 10 electronic tags was required for eligibility to the Scheme and the maximum payment per farmer was capped at €100, based on a maximum subsidy of €1 for 100 electronic tags.

Sheep farmers were not required to apply for the scheme as all the information required to determine eligibility and facilitate automatic payment to keepers in respect of eligible orders was available on my Department's Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) database.

Payments under this Scheme are being made in 4 quarterly tranches, in respect of the eligible tag orders processed in the previous 3 months. Three tranches of payments have been made to-date and the final payments in respect of eligible first orders made between 1 July 2019 and 30 September 2019 are due to be made at the end of this month.

While my Department is not aware of any concerns in relation to this Scheme, where individual farmers are not satisfied with the automatic determination of their eligibility for the Scheme or the amount payable to them, they can seek a review by contacting my officials in AIM Division in Backweston. All applications for review will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Where the outcome of such a review is not to the satisfaction of the applicant, the decision can be appealed to the Agricultural Appeals Office.

A total of €2.9 million was allocated to the scheme, of which a total of approximately €2.13 million will be paid to keepers in respect of eligible orders finalised between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2019.

As the Sheep EID Tag Subsidy Scheme was introduced on a once-off basis and the final date for purchasing eligible tags has now passed, there is no further funding allocation for this purpose.

Sheep EID Tag Subsidy Scheme 2019 - Eligible Tag Orders by County