The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has announced the cabinet approval for an allocation of €50 million to a support scheme for beef farmers.
The scheme will support beef finishers who have been severely impacted by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Economic impacts
Creed said that this support is an emergency response to a dramatic economic shock and to mitigate the worst COVID-19 economic impacts on these farms.
He said: “Beef farming is a significant economic contributor to local rural economies, and thus is more important than ever in sustaining these communities as we work towards economic recovery.”
He noted that the Department will be engaging with stakeholders in relation to the details of the scheme developed, which must also be submitted to the EU for state aid approval under the COVID-19 Temporary State Aid Framework.
“This is part of my ongoing efforts to ensure that all the appropriate support measures are put in place at national and EU level for our farming communities.”
“I urge all actors in the supply chain to recognise their interdependence and work collaboratively towards our shared objective –a beef sector which is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.”
Beef funding
Minister Creed concluded by saying he has now made over €200 million in new money available specifically for beef farmers over the past 2 years on top of the €300 million Beef Data Genomics Programme.
Minister Creed also announced that a meeting of the Beef Taskforce is planned for the end of June, to take place by video conference in light of Covid-19 restrictions.
