Payments to farmers under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme have commenced, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has announced today (Wednesday, September 18).
ANC advance payments totaling over €184 million have issued to 87,149 farmers. This is the highest ever level of advance payments under the scheme, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said.
In line with last year’s arrangement, the payments currently issuing are an 85% advance payment on the ANC scheme. The 15% of balancing payments are due to commence in early December.
In line with previous years, not all applications are currently cleared for payment under the scheme. Regular pay runs will continue in the coming weeks to ensure cleared cases are processed for payment as quickly as possible.
Farmers should submit any outstanding evidence in support of their application to the DAFM’s Portlaoise Office as soon as possible to facilitate the early release of payments.
The minister also confirmed that the DAFM is “on track” to facilitate payment of the advance of:
- 70% under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Complementary Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) from October 16, 2024; and
- Payments under the Eco-scheme from October 21, 2024.
Making the announcement today, Minister McConalogue said: “I am delighted to announce that advance payments totaling over €184 million have issued to 87,149 farmers under the ANC scheme.
“This is the highest level of advance payments to the most farmers ever achieved for the ANC.
“Also, I am very pleased that, as I committed, the ANC payment date in 2024 is fully in line with dates agreed with the Farmers’ Charter earlier this year.”
“The ANC scheme is crucial to farm families and I know the importance of getting payments out to applicants as quickly as possible. The issuing of these payments in mid-September highlights our commitment to make payments to farmers at the earliest possible time.
“Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days and my department will continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria,” the minister said.