Efforts to secure EU supports for the heavily-impacted beef sector in light of Covid-19 must continue, according to independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice. <\/span><\/p>\n

During a video conference call with the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, and a number of other public representatives, Fitzmaurice called on the minister to persevere with his efforts to secure EU support for the beef sector. <\/span><\/p>\n

Commenting on the matter, the Roscommon-Galway TD said: \u201cIn recent weeks, the price of beef cattle has dropped to \u20ac3.40\/kg. That\u2019s a loss of between \u20ac120 and \u20ac125 on a 400kg carcass, compared to where prices were prior to this outbreak. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe beef sector, in particular, has taken a significant hit as a result of this virus. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn recent weeks, the demand for beef has dried up and livestock marts have been forced to closed. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there are limited opportunities for farmers to sell their livestock at the moment, it may be difficult to secure their true market value. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI called on the minister to examine the possibility of introducing a scheme, similar to the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) that was introduced last year, in order to support struggling farmers. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the struggles that were already facing beef farmers prior to the problems brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak, there is no doubt that the sector will require support. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe minister must continue his efforts to sure Aids to Storage and Intervention, at a proper price, for the beef sector,\u201d Fitzmaurice added. <\/span><\/p>\n

Stocking rates<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The issue of stocking rates was another topic which came up during the course of the conference call with Minister Creed. <\/span><\/p>\n

Commenting, Fitzmaurice said: \u201cIn relation to the current BEAM scheme, farmers are required to make certain reductions over a 12-month period. I called on the minister to consider relaxing this rule given the current situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers involved in the scheme may have intended to market animals during the current period, in order to reach the required targets to meet the BEAM scheme\u2019s criteria. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut the recent closures of livestock marts has thrown a spanner in the works. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, many farmers are worried that they may not meet the stocking rate condition for seven consecutive months under the ANC scheme \u2013 given the reduced opportunities to purchase livestock. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I agree with the minister that abolishing the stocking rate requirement altogether is not the way to go, I asked for a reduction in the period of seven consecutive months down to four to be considered,\u201d he concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Fitzmaurice TD 086-1914565<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Efforts to secure EU supports for the heavily-impacted beef sector in light of Covid-19 must continue, according to independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice. During a video conference call with the Minister…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[48,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-3302","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-press-releases","7":"tag-beef","8":"tag-covid-19"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3302"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3303,"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3302\/revisions\/3303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelfitzmaurice.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}