Beef farmers to get another €8.9m
The extra funding is in addition to €8.6m in EU funding secured by the minister in July, following difficult negotiations with the EU Commission.
She said it brings total compensation for farmers affected by the overshoot to €17.5m. This means that payments of around €340m to beef farmers under the 2004 special beef premium scheme exceed those paid under the 2003 scheme by some €50m.
Ms Coughlan said the additional funding was the very welcome culmination of a long and difficult negotiation with the European Commission on behalf of Irish beef farmers, and that payments to the more than 25,000 people affected would commence immediately.
She made the announcement after the Dáil approved a technical supplementary estimate for her department that also includes provision of a further €800,000 to boost An Bord Bia’s autumn beef campaign and assist in the development of markets in the enlarged EU and Asia.
Ms Coughlan said the provision of additional funding for An Bord Bia will provide an essential boost to its efforts to build sales of Irish beef in European supermarkets, and to establish the ‘Irish Beef’ brand firmly in the minds of consumers.
It will allow An Bord Bia to greatly accelerate its Irish beef strategy at a time of the year when supply is peaking, she said.
