Farmers are set to get a cash boost in time for Christmas as the remaining 30% Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) monies begin to flow from Thursday 1 December.

The balancing payments will bring the total paid out under the BPS to farmers to €1.12bn.

Some 121,000 farmers have received a payment to date, according to Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed, while more than 87,000 farmers have been paid a total of €188m under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme to date.

“Payments under the Basic Payments Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme over the last few months represent a total payment of over €1.3bn to farmers,” said Minister Creed.

“This is a very significant financial boost for both individual farmers and the wider rural economy, and represents an important investment in the continued growth of our agri-food sector.”

He added that Department officials were continuing to prioritise the processing of outstanding cases under both schemes, saying: “Every effort continues to be made to clear for payment the small percentage of outstanding cases.”

He urged farmers with outstanding queries from the Department to respond as soon as possible.

Young farmers

The minister has announced that payments under the 2016 Young Farmers Scheme will also begin from Thursday 1 December.

Some 8,600 young farmers submitted applications to the scheme this year, while 8,170 qualified for it last year.

Payment to successful applicants under the Young Farmers Scheme in 2016 is based on €68.54 per activated entitlement, subject to a maximum of 50 entitlements.

A €24m annual budget is available for their payments, funded through a 2% transfer from Ireland’s BPS allocation – the highest allowed under EU rules.

BDGP and GLAS

IFA deputy president Richard Kennedy has called for all payments to be made without delay to help aid farmer cashflow.

Payments to farmers under the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and GLAS are also expected to begin in the coming weeks, with both flagged to flow by mid-December.