I very much welcome the new €50 million support package for beef farmers.
The package announced today by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine today is aimed at assisting beef finishers hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This initiative reflects the financial difficulties our beef farmers are facing.
This latest measure means more than €200 million worth of supports have been provided for beef farmers over the last two years, in addition to existing support schemes.
Our beef farmers were one of the first sectors to have been badly hit by Brexit and the advent of the COVID-19 virus has made a challenging situation worse with the collapse of the export market and many food outlets and fast food chains having to close.
There are still outstanding issues around price. which also need to be addressed. They can only be resolved by all the stakeholders coming together and I am pleased to see that the Beef Taskforce is due to meet at the end of the month.
In the meantime this immediate measure for beef finishers is very welcome. Pending European Union state aid approval and engagement with farmers, I hope the scheme will be available as soon as possible.