Ireland’s beef sector was allocated 10% of the total Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) funding allocation for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in 2023.
This 10% allocation consisted of €31 million of funding for the beef sector, out of the €314 million total BAR allocation last year, according to the DAFM.
The BAR fund was created by the EU to support all member states to manage the impacts of Brexit.
Ireland, as the member state most affected, received the biggest allocation at a value of €1.165 billion.
The funding can be allocated to projects across a range of sectors, including agriculture, fisheries and enterprise.
The list of financial allocations and expenditure under the BAR fund from the DAFM for 2023 is set out below:
Sector/Scheme 2023 BAR allocation 2023 BAR provisional expenditure Meat and bone meal disposal €16,000,000 €16,071,000 Horticulture €9,850,000 €4,706,000 Organic promotion €1,500,000 €1,474,000 Beef €31,000,000 €31,247,000 Marketing and processing €5,500,000 €8,756,000 Equine supports €1,000,000 €934,000 Fisheries €186,150,000 €182,045,000 Development of border inspection post at Rosslare Europort €63,906,000 €63,906,000 Total €314,906,000 €309,139,000
From the provisional spending figures provided by the DAFM, €5,767,000 of the BAR allocation in 2023 went unspent.
The fisheries sector received the most BAR funding, with over €186 million allocated in 2023, of which €182 million was spent, according to the provisional figures.
The promotion of organics received €1.5 million in funding in 2023, while the horticulture sector received €9.8 million, spending just €4.7 million in 2023, as indicated by the provisional figures.
€16 million was allocated for meat and bone meal disposal, of which all was drawn down from the BAR funding.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said: “Ultimately, the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform will determine which schemes form part of Ireland’s BAR claim, which is due to be submitted in September 2024.”
BAR funding allocation
The designated body for managing and deciding on the BAR in Ireland is the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), and it is coordinating Ireland’s overall policy position on the BAR.
The eligibility criteria set by the EU to qualify expenditure under the reserve are stringent, and any proposed expenditure must demonstrate a direct link to negative impacts arising from Brexit.
In 2022, the BAR allocation for the DAFM was €40 million, of which the horticulture sector was allocated €1.5 million.
Sector/Scheme 2022 BAR allocation 2022 BAR expenditure Horticulture €1,500,000 €1,410,000 Marketing and processing €5,300,000 €4,076,000 Fisheries €33,200,000 €22,615,000 Total €40,000,000 €28,101,000
Of the €28 millionthat was spent in 2022 from the BAR allocation, €22.6 mllion was spent on the fisheries sector.
In 2021, there was a total of €19 million allocated from the BAR, with fisheries once again accounting for the highest expenditure.
Sector/Scheme 2021 BAR allocation 2021 BAR expenditure Horticulture €70,000 €70,000 Marketing and processing €7,000,000 0 Fisheries €12,000,000 €10,000,000 Total €19,070,000 €10,070,000
The horticulture sector received €70,000 from the BAR funding of which all was spent, while the €7 million provided for marketing and processing was not spent in 2021, according to the DAFM figures.