Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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649. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which farmers are expected to meet the 5% reduction target as part of the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure, BEAM, scheme when the nitrates updates are only updated the month prior and figures are only available up until the end of October 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42857/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The objective of the €75m Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) was to provide temporary exceptional adjustment aid to farmers in the beef sector in Ireland subject to the conditions set out in EU Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1132. This aid was granted to support beef farmers who were affected by temporary market adjustment support in response to a specific market disturbance as outlined in Ireland's notification to the EU Commission and the 5% reduction was part of the conditionality sought by the EU.

Approved BEAM participants have given a commitment to reduce the production of bovine livestock manure nitrogen on the holding by 5% for the period 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 as compared with the period 1st July 2018 to 30th June 2019 as recorded on Department systems.

Participants who need advice on how to manage this reduction can contact the Department or consult an agricultural advisor to work out which changes will make most sense on their farm. Participating farmers can access all their relevant figures on the BEAM page on www.Agfood.ie. In addition to the reference and target figures, this page also displays a monthly updated figure for the previous 12 month period that tracks the trend for Nitrates figures on the holding to allow participating farmers to determine whether changes they have made are having the required effect.

These figures are extracted monthly for each holding from my Department's Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) system. The most recent figures displayed reflect the position to the end of October and were updated last week. These monthly updates will continue. There is a five week interval between the end of the month and the posting of the data to ensure the accuracy of the figures presented.

In addition, my Department is sending letters to all participating farmers to remind them of their commitments under the scheme, update them on the current Nitrates trends on their holding and to assist them in meeting the 5% commitment under the scheme. My Department is also engaging with public and private agricultural advisors to ensure that their farmer clients are informed of their requirements.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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650. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if an application by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry for the beef finisher scheme will be processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42917/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Beef Finisher payment (BFP) is a one-off, Exchequer-funded grant aid scheme under the Covid 19 State Aid Temporary Framework. The objective of BFP was to provide support for beef finishing farms in Ireland which had been severely impacted by the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

An application for the BFP was submitted by the person named on 6th September 2020 in respect of 31 animals. It is a requirement of the scheme that all applicants must have submitted a Basic Payment application for 2020. The person named had submitted his Basic Payment application but under a separate partnership number which has now been verified. As a result, the BFP application is now cleared and payment will issue shortly.