Minister Creed needs to put the Commission on notice that another fund will be needed to cover ongoing losses, the IFA has said.

The proposed €100m Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) should go to the farmers who suffered the losses, the farm organisation added.

“The Minister has said the scheme will cover losses up to 10 May, but prices since then have continued to fall and are now on the floor,” IFA president Joe Healy said.

He set out six principles for the distribution of the fund at the Department of Agriculture consultation meeting on Thursday.

The IFA's six principles for distribution of €100m Beef Fund:

1 For beef farmers and must be paid to beef farmers. Not for factories, factory feedlots or factory-owned cattle, agents or dealers.

2 Targeted to the farmers who incurred the losses and the sectors who need it most in terms of income.

3 Farmers who sold prime finished cattle – steers, heifers, young bulls – since last autumn, and suckler farmers.

4 Paid out quickly and directly to farmers.

5 Finished cattle sold in the marts must be included.

6 DAFM has all the data on the AIMs system to enable accurate targeting of the funds.

“It is imperative that the scheme is designed in such a way that every single cent of €100m committed by the European Commission and the Irish Government is paid out to farmers,” Healy said.

Excluding prime beef animals from all mixed enterprise farms involving beef and dairy production “is wrong, bearing in mind that farmers involved in other commodities or professions are eligible. These animals must be included for payment.”

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