Today’s announcement that a €50 million support scheme will be established for beef finishers, who have been impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak, must be welcomed, according to independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice.
However, the representative for the Roscommon-Galway constituency indicated that he will wait to see the full details of the scheme before giving his complete approval.
He said: “Having raised the need for this type of a scheme to be introduced for the past number of weeks, it is indeed welcome news that it will be rolled out.
“But the devil will be in the detail. We should not allow the scheme to be suffocated by red-tape and bureaucracy.
“Following the Covid-19 outbreak, livestock marts were shut down – closing off an integral route to sale for farmers. There were also reduced kills in factories around the country, with figures only just back to normal.
“It is imperative that this scheme is rolled out as soon as possible, once proper terms are agreed with stakeholders.
“As well as this, it is also good to hear that the Beef Market Taskforce will meet towards the end of the month with stakeholders participating via video link.
“This is long overdue given the difficulties which are facing the sector,” the independent TD concluded.
Michael Fitzmaurice 086-1914565