Payments to some participants in the 2018 Young Farmers Scheme (YFS) continue to be held up, as the Department of Agriculture works to complete eligibility checks.

To date, some €19.8m has been paid to last year’s successful applicants. These payments have been issued to 8,550 young farmers, with each receiving an average of €2,300.

Of the 9,600 farmers who applied last year, a number were unsuccessful. The primary reason for farmers not qualifying for payment was where they had commenced farming in 2012 or earlier and were no longer eligible under the scheme. Other reasons include not meeting the required agricultural education standard, holding no activated payment entitlements on which the payment can be made or not meeting the age requirement for the scheme.

In a statement, the Department said the majority of inspections have already been completed. However, a “small number” remain to be finalised on the ground and others require a follow-up office-based check. The Department said it was not yet possible to provide figures on the number of farmers that had failed the inspection process as cases continue to be finalised. Over 9,300 applications were submitted for the 2019 YFS.

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Of the 9,600 young farmers who applied for a 25% top-up to their BPS last year, approximately 8,550 have been paid so far.