Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon said the current industrial action on public sector pay is having a "disproportionate impact" on farmers.

Over 300,000 workers, who are calling for a new pay deal, are taking part in a strike across the country today (Wednesday, October 14).

Today's action marks an escalation from the work-to-rule which has been in place since September 30.

Payments under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (CRISS) were scheduled to start this Friday (October 16).

However, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said the main annual income supports for farmers will now not be paid until October 27.

Farm organisations have slammed the 11-day delay in payments saying that "farmers should not be left to bear the cost of this industrial action".

Payments

Minister Heydon said that the delay is causing "understandable frustration among farmers who depend on these payments at this time of year".

"For many farm families, these annual payments are a crucial part of their income, helping them meet ongoing farm expenses, pay bills and manage their financial commitments.

"Delaying these payments at such a critical time places an entirely unnecessary burden on the farming community," he said.

Minister Heydon called on trade unions to "engage in good faith and to resolve this very serious industrial relations matter".

"While the work-to-rule action continues across the whole sector it will affect many areas of my department’s operations and the impact on BISS and CRISS payments is particularly serious.

"It is deeply frustrating that farmers, who work hard throughout the year and depend on these payments, are now facing delays as a result.

"I will continue to seek to minimise these delays as much as possible in the coming days," he said.

The minister said his department had "engaged with the main banks on this issue".

"I would encourage farmers to talk directly to their bank’s agri advisor if they have immediate cashflow concerns.

"I hope that with cooperation on all sides it will be possible to resolve industrial relations matters and also to reduce the delays in these vital payments to farmers," he added.

Banks

Farmers who are concerned about cash flow pressures due to delayed scheme payments are being advised to contact their bank or financial institution.

Joe Healy, chairperson of Cultivate Farm Finance, told Agriland that Cultivate credit unions will work with farmers affected by the delays to BISS and CRISS payments.

"Credit Unions across the country appreciate that cash flow can be stretched at this time of year with contractor bills, tax payments and college fees to be looked after.

"We would also encourage concerned farmers to contact their local credit union as soon as possible for any of those requests," he said.

AIB acknowledged the delay in initial payments of both the BISS and CRISS schemes.

Donal Whelton, AIB head of agri, said the banks agri advisor team is "on hand to support our farming customers".

"We also recognise 2026 has been a more challenging year in terms of reduced family farm income relative to 2025.

"While our agri portfolio continues to highlight relatively low levels of current working capital utilisation and also no significant deterioration in available credit balances, we understand the impact of this payment delay may have on individual customers.

"If any customer has concerns in relation to the impact on their farms cashflow either as a result of this delay or other factors, we ask them to contact our agri team or local branch as soon as possible," he added.

A spokesperson for Bank of Ireland told Agriland: "Any customers concerned should engage with their local branch or relationship manager".