Approximately 1,150 farmers are awaiting the first instalment of their direct payment as a result of being selected for a land eligibility inspections.

Every year 8,000 farmers are selected for inspection, the majority of which (85%) are carried out by satellite. To date, 92% of inspections have been completed, with 93% of farmers in those cases paid.

There are also a further 1,200 farmers awaiting their first payment under the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme.

Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said any one farmer left unpaid was a farmer too many, but that efforts were being made to clear cases for payment.

Under EU regulations, inspections must be complete before any payment can be issued.

Issues with payments include:

  • Outstanding replies to Department query letters.
  • Resolution of entitlement transfer queries.
  • The finalisation of inspections, particularly where the Department has identified an area over declaration, or where farmers have submitted comments on to inspection findings.
  • Resolution of herd number issues relating to inheritance and transfer of ownership cases.
  • Payments

    So far this year, over €786m in direct payments has been issued to 118,974 farmers, while 92,016 farmers have received €196m in ANC payments.

    The final direct payment instalment of 30% is due from 1 December, while the final 15% of ANC payments are also due in December.

    IFA deputy president Richard Kennedy said the final instalment must be paid to all farmers next week.

    “It is essential that the Department of Agriculture has all outstanding queries and payment delays fully resolved before this final payment run commences next week. Delays cannot be tolerated at this late stage in the year,” Kennedy said.

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