More than 28,000 farmers have applied for the Beef Finisher Payment (BFP) scheme, figures obtained from the Department of Agriculture show.

The scheme closed for applications at midnight on Wednesday 8 September.

The applications account for 93% of the €50m fund. In total, 465,888 eligible animals were applied for. Each animal slaughtered between 1 February 2020 and 12 June 2020 inclusive qualifies for a €100/head payment.

This means that €46.6m of the fund was applied for. The average payment for farmer will be in the region of €1,600, with farmers applying for just over 16 animals on average.

County breakdown

The greatest number of applications have come from Cork, with 4,305 farmers applying for €6.7m worth of support. The next closest is Co Tipperary, where 2,408 farmers submitted applications totalling €4.6m.

Kilkenny, Laois and Wexford complete the top five, with applications worth €3.1m, €2.7m and €2.6m respectively.

The smallest number of applications came from Dublin (82), followed by Leitrim (182).

On a provincial level, 41% (€19.2m) of the fund will go to Leinster, 37% (€17.2m) to Munster, 11% (€5.3m) to Connacht and 10% (€4.9m) to the three counties in Ulster.

A further 548 applications have been lodged under appeal with the Department.

“These are cases where the BFP application was submitted under a herd number where no eligible animals were recorded in the reference period, but a case is being made for inclusion in the scheme,” a Department spokesperson said.

These applications will be assessed over the coming weeks and, in some cases, may be approved for inclusion in the scheme.

Payments are scheduled to commence in November 2020.

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