Farmers are being reminded that they can make amendments to their Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) applications until the end of the month.

Issuing the reminder, Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) president Patrick Kent said that farmers have until midnight on Tuesday, May 31, without penalty – as long as they submitted their initial application by last night’s deadline.

This year it was mandatory for all applications to be lodged online. The deadline for submitting a BPS application closed as of 12:00am last night (Tuesday, May 15).

Continuing, the president said: “It remains to be seen if everyone wishing to submit an application could do so in time.

Indications are there were some difficulties lodging applications as the deadline approached.

“Given this was the first year all applications had to be made online, we would call for some flexibility to be shown where individuals had genuine difficulty in fulfilling this obligation.

“It is also important to remember that you can add to or take from your application right up to midnight on May 31 without penalty,” Kent said.

Anyone with outstanding issues regarding their BPS application are advised by the ICSA to contact the Department of Agriculture offices in Portlaoise on: 076-106-4424.