Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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3364. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a BEAM payment for a person (details supplied) in County Cork; his views on correspondence which issued to the applicant in October 2019; his views on whether this target was fair and equitable for the applicant in view of further correspondence which issued to them on 28 May 2021; his further views on whether it is reasonable and fair to penalise the applicant in such circumstances in view of the latter correspondence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39312/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The objective of the 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.

One of the conditions of the BEAM scheme under which funding was provided by the EU was that there had to be an element of reduction or re-structuring built into the scheme - Article 1 (3) of (EU) 2019/1132 refers. Accordingly, in applying for BEAM, participants agreed to reduce the production of bovine livestock manure nitrogen on their holding by 5% for the reduction period 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 as compared with the reference period 1 st2018 to 30th June 2019.

Section 3.1 of the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) Terms and Conditions define a holding as:

“All the production units managed by a farmer during 2018 and subsequent years and situated within the territory of the Republic of Ireland”

Where a BEAM participant has during the BEAM reference period (1st July 2018 - 30th June 2019) and/or the BEAM reduction period (1st July 2020 - 30th June 2021 or in the case of deferment 1st January 2021 - 31st December 2021), had one or more associated herdnumbers linked to their BEAM application herdnumber on the Department’s Corporate Customer System (CCS), these herdnumbers are deemed as being be part of the participant's holding in line with section 3.1 of the BEAM Terms and Conditions.

As part of the holding, any bovine animals in these associated herd numbers during the BEAM reference period or the BEAM reduction period will be included in the calculations of bovine nitrates figures for the holding. The associated herd number letters that issued in recent months to some BEAM participants reminded those participants of their obligations under the scheme vis a vis section 3.1. It should be noted that the option was made available for farmers to defer and choose the alternative reduction period of 1 January 2021 - 31 December 2021 on 19 March and this facility closed on 21 June 2021. Some 16,000 farmers chose to do so.

With regard to the specific case raised by the Deputy, the holding of the person named had two herdnumbers associated with it during both the reference and reduction periods and as such the accumulated figures for both will be assessed in calculating whether the participant has met the 5% reduction requirement in BEAM. My Department's most recent calculations indicate that the main herdnumber appears to have made the necessary adjustments and is projected to meet the 5% reduction but the bovine nitrates in the second herdnumber have increased in the reduction period relative to the reference period. Taken together, the overall effect is that holding will miss the 5% reduction requirement in the original reduction period of 1 July 2020 - 30 June 2021.

This has arisen because of movements of bovines between the two herdnumbers during the reduction period.

These calculations are on the basis of the original reduction period. As the person named, has opted to avail of the deferred reduction period of 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2021, they will have the remainder of this year to make the necessary adjustments to both herds to deliver the required 5% reduction requirement and avoid a full or partial clawback of payment made under the scheme.