Almost 4,000 farmers received letters from the Department of Agriculture this week detailing the fines that they will face as a result of not complying with one of the specified criteria under the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) scheme.

Farmers who did not submit a BPS application in any or all of the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, who didn’t join the Bord Bia Quality Assurance scheme or participate in BDGP, BEEP, the organic farming scheme or GLAS or farmers who failed to reduce the number of bovine nitrogen will receive a penalty ranging from €40 to €11,600 per farm.

While the total penalty amount that these farmers will face is not yet known, the average payment under the scheme was €2,265, so the Department of Agriculture could be seeking to claw back over €8m of the €77m that was paid out, from these participants who failed to comply with the scheme requirements.

More fines are likely to be imposed at the end of this year, which is the end of the deferred reference period.

A further sting in the tail has been that farmers will be required to pay interest at the rate of 3% on money owed to the Department if the money is not paid back within one month of the date on the letter.

Good faith

IFA south Leinster regional chair Francie Gorman criticised the interest being charged, saying: “Farmers entered this scheme in good faith at a time when they really needed financial support. Schemes should be designed to draw down the maximum money for farmers, not the minimum.

“Charging interest on this money will be a severe financial burden on farmers and this shouldn’t be allowed happen. The minister needs to find a solution to the situation that ensures that this money is not clawed back.”