All farmers must receive their advance Single Farm Payment (SFP) this week and outstanding Disadvantaged Area Scheme (DAS) payments must all be paid out without further delay, according to Irish Farmers Association (IFA) deputy president Eddie Downey.
The delay in DAS payments got the 2013 direct payments run off to a bad start and the department must make up lost ground over the next week, he said.
More than €600m of SFP is due to 123,000 farmers on Wednesday. In addition, up to 28,000 farmers are waiting on their DAS payments with up to €50m outstanding from late September.
The delays with DAS payments are unacceptable and have left many farmers with cashflow difficulties, he said. It is vitally important that REPS and AEOS payment commence in November. In addition he said sheep grassland, outstanding suckler cow payments, BTAP and STAP payments must be paid out well before the end of the year.
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