Some 85%, or 148 of the 174 pig farmers who applied for aid under the Department of Agriculture’s Pig Exceptional Payment Scheme 2 (PEPS2) by the 11 July closing date were deemed eligible.

Between them, the 148 pig farmers will receive €12.596m, or an average payment of €85,108 under the scheme. Payments commenced on 9 September and vary depending on the scale of the pig enterprise, up to a maximum of €100,000.

PEPS2, with a budget of €13m, follows the original Pig Exceptional Payment Scheme which saw €7m in aid funding provided to pig farmers in March.

The 148 pig farmers eligible for the latest round of funding have agreed to remain in pig farming until 30 April 2023. However, they must reduce breeding pig numbers by 10% in the herd to which payment applies, as compared to the National Pig Census 2021 return for that herd.