The vast majority of farmers in Northern Ireland (NI) will receive their direct payments in full, starting from Monday 18 October, Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has confirmed.

With NI outside of EU CAP rules, it is the second year in a row that his Department has been able to make 100% payments from mid-October. In previous years, NI farmers, like their Republic of Ireland counterparts, received 70% of direct payments from mid-October, with a balancing payment made in December.

A total of £301.75m will start to issue from next week. It is the largest amount of money ever paid out on the first day of the payment window, after the Minister announced last month that the fund will be boosted by a one-off addition of £15.49m of leftover funding from the COVID-19 income support scheme.

In total 98% of eligible applicants will receive their payment in the coming days, and this includes 91% of businesses that were selected for inspection in 2021.

“I wish to express my thanks to staff within my Department who have worked diligently to ensure that hard-pressed farming families receive these vital payments as soon as possible,” commented Minister Poots.

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