The applications made under the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) equate to a €78,192,380 potential payment, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed.
Yesterday, Tuesday, September 24, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine stated that the final number of applications under the BEAM scheme stands at 34,517.
At present, 560 applications are under appeal, according to a department spokesperson.
Some 70,000 beef and suckler farmers would have been eligible to apply for the scheme when it first opened. The measure closed for applications at 5:00pm last Friday, September 20.
Earlier this month, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed warned that the money spent would be “contingent on farmers applying”.
Speaking to AgriLand on September 4, the minister said: “We want this to be a €100 million scheme – but that is contingent on farmers applying.
“If farmers apply in lesser numbers, it will be less than €100 million – so I would urge everyone who is eligible to apply,” the minister added.
This morning, Wednesday, September 25, the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) called on the minister to “change the terms and conditions” of the BEAM scheme to allow suckler farmers to draw down more payments than originally allocated to make use of the approximate €22 million likely to be unspent.