January 19, 2021 1:07 pm Any attempt to seek a payback of up to €40 million under the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) scheme from farmers has been labelled “immoral” by independent TD Denis Naughten. The TD reiterated his concern on the matter, highlighting that figures show the national suckler herd as a whole has already fallen by 6% between June 2018 and June 2020. The Roscommon-Galway TD warned that up to 18,000 farmers could face a clawback of €40 million if they fail to achieve a 5% reduction of bovine livestock manure nitrogen under the scheme. He said: “Suckler and beef farmers are already struggling to make ends meet.