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The Equality Commission is not planning to conduct a formal review into the closure of the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme in NI.
Last August, the Irish Farmers Journal revealed that an initial inquiry into the closure of the scheme was being carried out following a complaint by a farmer from a Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA).
The complaint alleged that DAERA had failed to comply with the Government’s equality policy, when the decision was made in December 2016 to close the scheme from 2018 onwards.
From the information provided, it was assessed that the complaint did not meet the statutory criteria set out in the act to allow the commission to consider an investigation
However, legislation on equality rights states that all complaints must be made within 12 months of the complainant becoming aware of the alleged matter.
“From the information provided, it was assessed that the complaint did not meet the statutory criteria set out in the act to allow the commission to consider an investigation,” an Equality Commission spokesperson said.
It is understood that the complaint centred around the negative impact that stopping ANC payments had on SDA farmers. Another potential equality issue was that 67% of the 8,800 farmers who received ANC payments come from a Roman Catholic background.
Local representatives from Sinn Féin helped the former ANC recipient lodge the complaint and are now seeking a meeting with officials from the Equality Commission to see if there are any grounds for an investigation to proceed.
Post-Brexit
Meanwhile, with this spring being the first year that SDA farmers will not receive ANC payments, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has called for a similar scheme to be introduced as part of post-Brexit agricultural policy in NI.
It is an unfortunate reality that the market often does not deliver healthy margins for primary producers, especially in SDA area
UFU hill farming chair John Kennedy said that SDA farmers are facing increased costs, and many have also lost income due to the ending of the Countryside Management Scheme.
He described the current Environmental Farming Scheme as “too bureaucratic and financially unattractive”.
“It is an unfortunate reality that the market often does not deliver healthy margins for primary producers, especially in SDA area.
“The loss of the ANC payment has hit SDA farms financially hard and has many questioning their viability,” Kennedy said.
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