At least €14m of CAP money is to be taken from eastern counties and redistributed to western counties, as the effect of ring-fencing for eco-schemes is laid bare.

A minimum of 20% of farmers’ direct payments will be set aside for eco-schemes, and possibly as much as 30%.

The effect is to rapidly accelerate convergence, and all farmers with entitlements above the national average of €260/ha are about to take a hit to their farm payments.

There are 14 counties where the average entitlement value is above €260/ha.

The greatest losses will be concentrated in the southeast, with Kilkenny, Carlow, and Wexford the most exposed.

In contrast, there are 12 counties below the national average where farmers are most likely to gain from the flattening.

Kerry, Donegal and Leitrim will see the biggest increases.