Despite the introduction of the new Basic Payment Scheme last year the Department of Agriculture is again obliged to publish the details of farmers and other organisations EU payments in 2015.
Approximately 130,000 Irish farmers and other entities involved in agriculture receive EU payments totalling in the region of €1.8 billion each year.
In accordance with EU legislation, the Department of Agriculture must ensure annual ex-post publication of all of the beneficiaries of CAP funding – both legal and non-legal persons.
In accordance with the regulation this Department must, by May 31, 2016, publish:
- The name of the beneficiary (unless the amount of payment under CAP funds is less than €1,250 in which case the individual will be identified by a code).
- The municipality where the beneficiary is resident.
- The amount of payment corresponding to each measure received by a beneficiary, and
- The nature and description of each measure.
The Department told Agriland this week, that it is intended that all appropriate information relating to 2015 will be published in the required format by the May 31, deadline.
While the full details of farmers addresses are not being published, the move to publish details of farm payments has been opposed by farming organisations, who have said previously it is a breach of confidentiality and that farmers’ security was being put a risk.
The most recent publication of CAP beneficiaries referred to the October 16, 2013 to October 15, 2014 financial year was published in 2015. The next publication (for 2016), which will be on, or before, May 31 next, will relate to the October 16 2014 to October 15, 2015 financial year.
The Department is required to publish a list for a period of two years only, therefore the payments made prior to that have been removed.
Last year’s figures showed that farmers in Cork received more than €215m, while 382 farmers in the county received over €50,000 in farm payments from the EU. One farmer in Cobh was in receipt of farm payments in excess of €444,000.
Farmers in Co. Meath received almost €60m in farm payments with 192 receiving more than €50,000 while 37 received more than €100,000.
In Waterford John and Peter Queally received more than €686,000, while Rosderra Farms in Offaly received €440,000 and Kepak Farm received €257,000 and Glydee Farms (majority owned by Larry Goodman) received €230,000.
Further, farmers who received less than €1,250 in farm payments are anonymous on the Department’s site.
The figures also show that farms owned by meat factories receive significant sums of EU farm payments monies, with Kepak in receipt of over €250,000.
Some 15 payments, totalling €93,000 were made to people with addresses outside of Ireland.
Access to the CAP Beneficiaries list can be found at here.