Applications are now being accepted from pig farmers under a €7 million support scheme, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed.

The Pig Exceptional Payment Scheme (PEPS) was established in response to the ongoing crisis in the sector due to a combination of high feed costs and low pigmeat prices.

Minister Charlie McConalogue said that the short-term emergency response aims to avert potential animal welfare issues and help farmers through the “extreme current conditions”.

It will be distributed through a once-off flat-rate payment for commercial pig farmers who have produced more than 200 pigs between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 inclusive.

This includes pigs sent to slaughter, exported or sold commercially from a breeding herd.

The scheme will operate under de minimis regulations meaning that “only one payment will be made per undertaking”. The maximum payment available will be €20,000.

Applications, which can be emailed to [email protected], will be accepted until Sunday, March 20, 2022.

Pig payment

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue thanked his Cabinet colleagues for approving the government funding.

“As I have consistently stated, our pig farmers are remarkably resilient, but I am acutely aware of the unprecedented challenges they are facing at present.

“Irish pig farmers, alongside others across the EU, are currently facing a combination of low prices and extraordinarily high input costs.

“The scheme is an urgent emergency response to allow pig farmers to plan for an adjustment to the new market situation. We will seek to issue payments as rapidly as possible,” McConalogue stated.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon who chairs the Pig Roundtable, explained that this scheme is part of a package to support the sector.

Heydon noted that pig farmers can avail of the Brexit Impact Loan Scheme and the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme for working capital during the current financial crisis.

The minister also stated that Bord Bia has intensified its promotion of Irish pigmeat in the domestic and export markets and Teagasc advisors have engaged with producers to explore options available to them.