The time frame for farmers to submit their Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application is reducing fast, with the closing date to lodge applications (online or paper) next Monday 16 May. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) reports 96,000 (77,000 online and 19,000 paper) applications were received by Wednesday morning, meaning there is in the region of 37,000 applications still to be submitted.

The Department has taken steps to ensure farmers seeking help with their applications are supported in the coming days. A dedicated telephone helpline is available for farmers applying online until 9pm daily, including Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 May, and can be contacted at 0761 064424.

The Department’s office at Government Buildings in Portlaoise will also be open for extended hours until 9pm today (Thursday) and tomorrow, and will also be open from 9am to 5pm on Saturday 14 May and Sunday 15 May.

Additionally, the Portlaoise office will be open until midnight on the application deadline of Monday 16 May to facilitate the acceptance of paper applications and the extended provision of one-to-one assistance for farmers applying online.

Farmers applying online are reminded to tick the box to denote they are applying for the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC). This is located on the front page of paper applications.