Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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One of the eligibility conditions of SCEP participation requires that participants MUST complete the mandatory SCEP training course by 15 November 2024. This training course will help participants successfully implement the actions within SCEP and advise the best practices in farm safety and livestock handling.

The training material has been devised by my Department with the assistance of Teagasc, the ICBF and other beef sector experts. The course is focused on the SCEP actions that farmers must undertake as part of the programme – breeding strategies, genotyping, weighing and calving surveys – and also includes a module on farm safety and livestock handling. In order to ensure the best quality of training for farmers, a professional e-learning company was engaged to create and configure an interactive experience tailored to the needs of SCEP participants and the Department’s requirements. It will ensure that SCEP participants are fully aware of their responsibilities within the scheme helping them to avoid penalties.

This training is designed to be delivered primarily through an online system, given the significant advantages of such systems. It offers great flexibility for farmers, as they can do the training whenever they want, in the comfort of their own home, in pieces or in one go as suits themselves. However, I do not want any farmer disenfranchised in relation to this important training. I recognise that there are some SCEP participants who may not have internet connectivity or the support to access it and therefore I am confirming that my Department will hold a number of in-person SCEP training events later in the summer for SCEP participants who wish to do the training in-person rather than online. The full details of these will be announced shortly.

While I am providing an in-person option, the expectation is that online training will be preferential for the majority of participants given it will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This will allow farmers, whether full time or part time, to undertake the training at a date and time that best suits them rather than having to attend a specific location on a specific day. The online training is split into seven modules and a farmer can stop and start the training as many times as the need, once it is completed in full by 15 November 2024.

A dedicated site has been provided for applicants at www.sceptraining.ie. There are helpful screenshot instructions on the process of activating accounts, logging into accounts and progressing through the training modules are available to view on my Department's website on the - Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) section (www.gov.ie). A letter detailed the training requirements including the why and how to do it has been issued by my Department to all SCEP participants.

Whether a participant in the scheme wishes to attend the in-person training in due course, or complete it through the online system, it is important to note that the training must be completed in full by 15 November 2024 to to avoid removal from SCEP and loss of any payments already received.