No position outlined by minister on destocking
Minister McConalogue said he will "work closely with the sector" on this matter. Picture: Brian Lawless
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said he remains to have a “massive commitment” to supporting the suckler sector, however, he will not outline his position on the proposals around suckler destocking until he has the Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group's report “fully considered”.
A voluntary diversification scheme is proposed, which would involve the removal of suckler cows from a farm, and a voluntary extensification scheme, which would involve a reduction in the number of suckler cows on a farm.
Answering questions in the Dáil this week, Mr McConalogue said he acknowledges that proposals around destocking in the Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group’s report on reducing emissions from the beef sector are something that do "not have support from farm organisations or, indeed, from the meat factories or processors".
"I will reflect on all of that and on the suite of options," he said.
In addition to the beef and sheep group, Mr McConalogue recently received the report of the Food Vision Dairy Group, and said that both reports contain "many options that can make a difference in achieving our emissions reduction".
He said he remains to have a "commitment to the suckler sector, which is the anchor of our beef industry and needs to remain so".
In relation to measures around destocking, Mr McConalogue said he is "not making a judgement one way or another on both reports until they are fully considered, and then I will make my position clear".
"At this point, I am not cherry-picking different options or proposals within either of them in advance of making a final decision on all of them," the minister added.
"There are no plans at the moment to introduce such a scheme. I am considering both reports."
He added that he will "work closely with the sector" to ensure incomes and the impact of any proposal "is fully considered".
