The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, has launched the new scheme for suckler herds.
It will be funded by the Exchequer and is designed to encourage best practice in terms of animal welfare for suckler herds and to improve the quality of the beef produced in Ireland.
The Minister said an annual payment of €80 per cow or €82 for on-line applications will apply to suckler cows calving from 1 January 2008 onwards.
Minister Coughlan added that the scheme would operate for a five-year period from January 2008.
The national suckler herd is the source of Ireland's high quality beef, which is important to both the rural economy and the economy in general.
