Farmers have welcomed a "generally positive" update on various scheme payments from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Speaking after Thursday’s (October 2) meeting of the Farmers' Charter, deputy president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) Eamon Carroll, said that payments will "enable farmers to plan much more effectively when they can, in turn, pay their outstanding bills".

Carroll said that updates on payments for all schemes were given at the meeting but the "most positive" is the indication that 90% of 2025 Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) payments will be made in December this year.

“That’s a very significant improvement on the previous payment years of 2023 and 2024, which, almost unbelievably, still have some outstanding payments left to be made," Carroll said.

"To put it in context, if 90% received their initial ACRES payment in December that will amount to almost 50,000 farmers. Look at the contrast with previous years; it took to March 2025 to complete 95% of 2023 payments.  

"The target has to be that all the eligible farmers in 2025 receive their payments in the calendar year of 2025."

Carroll, who also serves as chairperson of the farm and rural affairs committee, said that Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) payments have already been made to more than 90,000 farmers with the balance of eligible farmers to be paid through to the end of the year.

Basic Income Support for Sustainability and Eco Scheme payments will commence from October 16, to be made through to the end of October with the department confident that most farmers will receive their payments on time, the ICMSA said.  

“There are cases that have yet to be processed fully," Carroll said.

"ICMSA asked the department to immediately make contact with the farmers in question so that any problems can be resolved quickly, thus avoiding payment delays."

On the issue of the so-called ‘forgotten farmers’ scheme, Carroll said that the DAFM was confident of payment early December but had advised that not all farmers who applied for that scheme will receive payment, as some were deemed ineligible.  

“We were critical of the terms and conditions of this scheme when it was set out and our criticisms have been vindicated," he said.

"Many deserving farmers have been excluded, and we still think that it’s possible – and would be the right thing to do – to revisit this scheme and put in place some kind of reasonable appeals mechanism for those farmers deemed ineligible and excluded.

"As it stands, ICMSA believes that the forgotten farmers are being forgotten again."

The ICMSA deputy president stressed a need for the department to "reach out proactively to farmers" whose applications have not been processed fully and explain what the difficulties are, and how they should be resolved".