Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has moved to bypass the Department’s own IT system and payment mechanisms to pay 26,000 farmers waiting for delayed ACRES money.

Farmers in the general stream will be paid €4,000 and farmers in the co-operation stream will be paid €5,000 by the end of the month.

These flat-rate interim payments will be made directly from the Government and through a separate delivery system to ACRES.

The interim payments will be clawed back from farmers’ ACRES payments when they are eventually issued.

Minister McConalogue made a commitment to the Irish Farmers Journal that the 26,000 interim payments will be made by the end of February.

End of the month

The minister said he was very confident “that every single farmer will have received a payment by the end of the month”.

Irish Farmers’ Association rural development chair John Curran said it could be the end of May before all of the original ACRES payments are issued.

Interim payment to be made to ACRES farmers

Map: over 28,000 farmers in ACRES awaiting payments

Up to €5,000 for farmers in ACRES compromise

These flat-rate payments will be made from the National Exchequer and through a separate delivery system to how ACRES is paid.