The news was confirmed today by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney.

“The receipt of the letter of comfort is the culmination of an intense period of consultation between officials in my Department and the EU Commission in relation to the content of our RDP," he said.

Formal adoption of RDPs in Europe will be delayed until after the Multi-Annual Financial Framework is amended at EU level, so the EU Commission agreed to issue letters of comfort to allow countries to roll of funding.

The schemes funded by the RDP include the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS), the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), the Beef Genomics Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC), as well as LEADER.

"The roll out of these schemes will underpin increased competitiveness and growth in rural Ireland and the agri-food sector over the period to 2020," said Minister Coveney.