Minister McConalogue announces publication of PGI application for “Irish Grass Fed Beef’’
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D., today announced publication of the final version of the PGI application for “Irish Grass Fed Beef” submitted by Bord Bia.
Minister McConalogue stated “Following detailed scrutiny, my Department has determined that the application is in order to be submitted to the European Commission. I want to thank all the stakeholders, including the members of the Beef TaskForce, who have engaged in this process and have helped progress the application to this stage.”
“I know that there is a detailed process which must now be completed by the European Commission in evaluating this application. However, I will be emphasising to Commissioner Wojciechowski that PGI status for our unique quality, Irish grass fed beef would have benefits for all those in the supply chain, principally the primary producer, at this critical time for the Irish beef sector.”
The Minister added, “If the PGI is successfully registered, a PGI Monitoring Group will be established to report to the Beef Taskforce on progress on a regular basis, with a majority farmer representation.”
Minister McConalogue said that he will continue to engage with Minister Edwin Poots and his stakeholders in Northern Ireland to pursue an All-island PGI status and Minister McConalogue said he will work closely Minister Poots in this regard.
Concluding, Minister McConalogue said: “This is the latest measure by me and my Department to strengthen and enhance the beef sector. I have secured €6m in funding in Budget 2021 for the marketing and branding of suckler-based brand. Last week, we paid out over €46m through the Beef Finisher Payment while a further €85m has been secured as part of Budget 2021 to support sustainable beef farming – these measures include €40m for the rollover of the BDGP, a further €40m for BEEP and €5m for the calf weighing scheme. These come on top of the €76m BEAM scheme which issued in 2019 and the first BDGP scheme which concluded recently.”
Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy commented, “If granted, the Grass Fed Irish Beef PGI will be a valuable means of bolstering the reputation of Irish beef and unlock a range of market advantages to benefit Irish beef farmers. This submission is timely as, if successful, the PGI will help strengthen the toolkit available to us to combat the negative effects of Brexit on our beef industry, particularly given the awareness and resonance of PGIs in key Continental markets. I thank all those involved in crafting and fine-tuning this robust submission and eagerly await the decision of the Commission.”
Following the National Opposition Procedure and scrutiny of the application for a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for Irish Grass Fed Beef, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has determined that the application is in order to be submitted to the European Commission for evaluation. “Irish Grass Fed Beef” is the name given to quality Irish beef from cattle raised on a grass based diet on pasture grazing farms in Ireland, which derive at least 90% of their feed intake from grass and spend a minimum of 220 days per year throughout their lifetime grazing pasture in accordance with the Bord Bia Grass Fed Standard.
Since publication of the National Opposition Procedure, following feedback from stakeholders including the Beef Task Force, a number of minor amendments and clarifications were made to the application.
In addition, the European Commission will be advised
- of strong views expressed during the National Opposition Procedure, that grass-fed young bulls should be included, when further data on this cohort is available to support this;
- of Ireland’s support for the PGI being extended on an all-island basis, when a grass-fed verification system is in place in Northern Ireland.
The application and specification can be found here. Any natural or legal person, having a legitimate interest and resident in Ireland, may appeal the decision on the application by submitting their appeal grounds to PGIappeals@agriculture.gov.ie by 3pm on Tuesday 8 December 2020.
Note for Editors:
Geographical Indications are a type of intellectual property right, protecting food product names which are linked to a particular territory or to a production method. The EU’s Geographical Indications scheme is beneficial to producers as it allows for the identification and protection of names of specific agricultural products which have particular value adding characteristics linked to their place of origin. GI recognition enables consumers to trust and distinguish quality products while also helping producers to market their products.
The governing EU Regulation No. 1151/2012 provides that if, after assessment of any opposition received, the Member State considers that the requirements of the Regulation are met, it may take a favourable decision and lodge an application with the Commission. The application may be lodged while the appeal process is on-going.
The EU Commission will scrutinise the application that it receives in order to check that it is justified and that it meets the conditions of the respective scheme. This scrutiny period can last up to 6 months or longer.
An opposition procedure will be provided at EU level whereby oppositions to the application may be lodged by a Member State (other than Ireland) or third country.