Payments worth €47.06m commenced on Friday to 14,983 farmers participating in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).

This represents a payment being made to 94% of current SCEP participants for year three of the five-year scheme.

In announcing the payments, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon TD reminded SCEP participants to submit any outstanding documentation to the Department or the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) as soon as possible so that any outstanding payments can be processed.

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“Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days. The issuing of payment under SCEP is crucial to the beef sector and farm families and my Department will continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria.”

The Minister noted that a total of €79m has issued in the past 10 days under three beef schemes, stating that it reaffirms the Government's commitment to supporting this vital sector within rural Ireland.

He added: “SCEP provides support to beef farmers to improve the environmental sustainability of the national beef herd. This is the third year of SCEP as part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and builds on the gains delivered in the previous CAP through the Beef Data and Genomics Programme and the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme by improving the genetic merit of the Irish suckler herd.”

Farmers wishing to speak to the Department regarding their payment or any aspect of the programme can email beefschemes@agriculture.gov.ie or contact 057- 867 4422.

Queries for the ICBF can be sent to dafmschemes@icbf.com or call 023-882 0452.

Payment information

Farmers can view information regarding their payment via their MyAgfood.ie or Agfood.ie contact in the financial self-services section.

It is important to note that the payment will also include information regarding a payment deduction to cover the cost of genotype sampling.

Some payments may also include a payment deduction or penalty where, for example, survey or event recording information was not recorded before payments were processed or where genotype samples were not returned before processing of payments began.

This payment, including any penalty imposed, will be returned at a later date when it is confirmed that all the required actions have been completed satisfactorily.

The final date for recording survey or event information is 15 February 2026, while the deadline for returning genotype samples was 30 November 2025.