The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has accused the Department of Agriculture of blatantly breaching the commitments it made on the timelines it pledged to get TB compensation out to farmers due payment on foot of reactors.
The ICMSA’s deputy president Eamon Carroll has said that some farmers whose herds went down with TB have been left waiting months on compensation payments due to them, despite the charter’s “unambiguous” target of getting funds out within three weeks of the receipt of all required paperwork.
“The Farmers’ Charter commitment is that farmers should be paid within three weeks of the submission of the required documentation and - to put it mildly - this unambiguous charter commitment is being breached blatantly with many farmers waiting months for the compensation due.
“It’s just outrageous that these farmers who are dealing with the loss of their animals and the associated loss of income associated can be left twisting in the air like this and having their distress compounded in this fashion,” Carroll said.
The Farmers’ Charter sets out the Department pledges on upholding standards in dealing with farmers, including targets outlined on payment timelines.
It was updated by then-Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue in 2024 after lengthy delays in farmers receiving Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) payments.
Impact on farmer buy-in
TB compensation issues with the charter could see the current Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon’s updated TB control plan run into trouble in gaining farmer buy-in, Carroll warned.
“We are calling on the Minister to immediately pay all payments that are already outside the charter timeframe commitments and to ensure that no more due payments are delayed beyond the charter timeframes.
“God knows that TB causes enough stress for the farmers in question and the Department shouldn’t be adding to that,” he said.
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The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has accused the Department of Agriculture of blatantly breaching the commitments it made on the timelines it pledged to get TB compensation out to farmers due payment on foot of reactors.
The ICMSA’s deputy president Eamon Carroll has said that some farmers whose herds went down with TB have been left waiting months on compensation payments due to them, despite the charter’s “unambiguous” target of getting funds out within three weeks of the receipt of all required paperwork.
“The Farmers’ Charter commitment is that farmers should be paid within three weeks of the submission of the required documentation and - to put it mildly - this unambiguous charter commitment is being breached blatantly with many farmers waiting months for the compensation due.
“It’s just outrageous that these farmers who are dealing with the loss of their animals and the associated loss of income associated can be left twisting in the air like this and having their distress compounded in this fashion,” Carroll said.
The Farmers’ Charter sets out the Department pledges on upholding standards in dealing with farmers, including targets outlined on payment timelines.
It was updated by then-Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue in 2024 after lengthy delays in farmers receiving Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) payments.
Impact on farmer buy-in
TB compensation issues with the charter could see the current Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon’s updated TB control plan run into trouble in gaining farmer buy-in, Carroll warned.
“We are calling on the Minister to immediately pay all payments that are already outside the charter timeframe commitments and to ensure that no more due payments are delayed beyond the charter timeframes.
“God knows that TB causes enough stress for the farmers in question and the Department shouldn’t be adding to that,” he said.
Read more
TB compensation to be linked with herd-specific risk measures
Budgets too tight to raise farmer TB compensation – Minister
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