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Minister Coveney was scrutinised by Fianna Fáil’s agriculture spokesman Éamon Ó Cuív at a general election special edition of Around the Editor’s Table on Thursday night. It was broadcast live on www.farmersjournal.tv.
Ó Cuív again stated that by his calculations, there is a €50m underspend in the BDGP budget. It is through this alleged underspend that Fianna Fáil said it will fund its €200/cow payment as outlined in its election manifesto.
“We’re totally transparent in the way we spent money in the Rural Development Programme. It is not true to say that on the figures we provided, there’s going to be an underspend on the Beef Genomics Scheme,” Minister Coveney retorted.
Reopening the BDGP
“If there is an underspend, and I’m told in the Department that there won’t be, we will try to make sure that the money stays within the suckler beef sector,” Coveney.
When pressed by the meeting’s chair, Irish Farmers Journal editor Justin McCarthy, if the BDGP would be reopened to allow more farmers in, Coveney said that “if we can afford to do it, yes, we will”.
Coveney’s indication that he could reopen the BDGP prompted Ó Cuív to say that “he’s (Coveney) admitting that there will be an underspend in the scheme” to which Coveney responded “no, I’m not admitting that”. It was feisty engagement between the two most senior agriculture-related politicians in the country.
Coveney then went on the offensive with regard to Fianna Fáil's promise of a €200/cow suckler payment.
“The reason why Éamon is trying to create an underspend is that in this election manifesto, he has a whole series of promises made without any way of paying for it... it’s a sleight of hand by Fianna Fáil,” he added.
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