The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has published the beneficiaries of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2022.
EU member states are required to publish a list of beneficiaries of all forms of CAP funding each year.
The department must publish this list by May 31 each year. The data published in the most recent list refers to the period October 16, 2021 to October 15, 2022.
The annual publication, which is available online, includes the name of the beneficiary (which may be an individual person, company or other legal entity); the county or municipality where the beneficiary is resident/located; and the amount of payment for a particular CAP measure.
In terms of direct payments, the beneficiary which saw the highest payment was Country Crest Arable Limited of Co. Dublin, which received €237,598.88 in 2022. This enterprise also received approximately €20,000 in other CAP measures.
This was followed by O’Shea Farms Unlimited of Co. Kilkenny, which received €224,352.41 in direct payments in the relevant period, and roughly €15,000 in other measures.
The beneficiary of the third highest amount of direct payments in 2022 was racehorse breeding enterprise Godolphin Ireland UC in Co. Kildare, which received €222,282.25, as well as €402.82 under the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme.
The next highest figures for direct payments went to Castlecor Potatoes Unlimited in Co. Cork, which received €216,557.42. The business received approximately €24,000 in other measures also.
The recipients of the fifth highest amount of direct payments was T. Brown and A. O’Donovan in Co. Cork, which saw direct payments of €212,362.16. These recipients also saw about €8,000 under the ANC Scheme.
The table below outlines the top 10 beneficiaries of direct payments for 2022:
Beneficiary County/municipality Direct payment amount 2022 Country Crest Arable Limited Dublin €237,598.88 O’Shea Farms Unlimited Kilkenny €224,352.41 Godolphin Ireland UC Kildare €222,282.25 Castlecor Potatoes Unlimited Cork €216,557.42 T. Brown and A. O’Donovan Cork €212,362.16 Lunarford Limited Tipperary €204,800.52 Branganstown Farms Limited Louth €204,431.70 Park Farms Partnership Carlow €202,561.41 Kevin and Martin and Brid Byrne Kildare €192,942.56 Bellingham Farms Louth €192,581.25
Rounding out the remainder of the top 10, Lunarford Limited in Co. Tipperary received the sixth highest amount of direct payments, with €204,800.52, plus €3,093.50 on the ANC Scheme.
After that, Branganstown Farms Limited in Co. Louth received €204,431.70 in direct payments, the only measure for which this business received CAP funds in the relevant period.
The beneficiary of the eighth highest amount of direct payments was Park Farm Partnership in Co. Carlow, which received €202,561.41. It also received around €45,000 in other measures.
After that, the beneficiaries of the next highest amount of direct payments were Kevin and Martin and Brid Byrne of Co. Kildare, who received €192,942.56. These recipients also saw about €8,500 in other measures.
Finally, closing out the top 10 CAP direct payment beneficiaries for 2022, Bellingham Farms in Co. Louth received €192,581.25. This beneficiary only received CAP funding under direct payments last year.