An analysis of payments listed under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) heading on the CAP beneficiaries publication shows the transfer of funds from eastern to western counties.

The total level of funding paid to farmers under this heading increased by €5.7m in 2026, which amplifies the increase in payments that some counties received when compared to 2024 levels.

Leaving this aside, the shift in funding due to convergence of BISS entitlement values at a rate of 85% and the implementation of the Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) is clearly seen in Table 1.

Payments have fallen by the highest level of €0.65m in Tipperary, followed by a reduction of €0.5m in Wexford. This is not surprising, given these counties historically had on average the highest level of entitlement values.

It is important to note that there are farmers who will still benefit from an increase in payments in such counties that would be deemed as generating a higher level of agricultural output.

Cork and Wicklow are good examples of this – there are farmers in these counties with historically higher entitlement values that will see their payments reduce but overall payments will increase as there are more farmers with below average payment entitlements.

The counties that benefit most are those with a high percentage of more marginal hill or mountain type lands where payments were historically lower, with Mayo, Kerry, Donegal and Galway looking like they are receiving a massive jump, but this is also influenced by the land area and high number of applicants.