The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) is to boycott Wednesday’s meeting of the Farmers Charter of Rights group, over what it says is the Department’s unilateral action to change payment dates.

In March, the Department proposed new payment dates at a meeting of the group and then proceeded to write to farmers notifying them of the new dates.

Farm organisations say they did not agree to the new payment dates.

The IFA will not be attending any further negotiations until it meets with Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to discuss the proposed delay in farm payment dates and the overall charter negotiating process, IFA president Tim Cullinan said.

Charade

“Following the last meeting of the group, the Department proceeded to announce payment dates for 2023, which, in some cases, are a month later than 2022 and which we completely rejected. This is totally unacceptable.

“The Department has acted unilaterally. Delaying payments is totally wrong and [the] IFA will not participate in what is now a charade,” he said.

Cullinan said that the IFA wrote to the Minister on 13 March and again on 22 March seeking an urgent meeting to try to address these issues, but that has not happened, he added.

Intervene

IFA deputy president Brian Rushe said the Minister’s officials have already made their mind up to push the payment dates back.

The Minister must intervene now and agree that payment dates for 2023 are back on the table and a solution found, he said.

“The Department seems to have no concept of the importance of these payments.

“Thousands of farmers have their businesses structured around receiving these payments on the dates they get them every year. Delaying them will affect bank repayments and cashflow to meet other bills,” he warned.

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