No further cleared applicants under some farm schemes will receive payment until December 1, Agriland understands.
IFA presidential candidate Francie Gorman has claimed that payments under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), the areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme and the eco-scheme have been delayed up to December 1 for farmers that become cleared to receive payment.
Over the course of the last month, advance payments have been made under these three schemes to farmers that had met the scheme criteria at the time.
It was expected that payments would continue to be made to farmers as they met the criteria for payment for each scheme.
According to Gorman, these farmers, who were not cleared for payment initially but subsequently were cleared and are awaiting payment, and farmers that are likely to meet the payment criteria over the coming weeks, will have to wait until December 1 to be paid.
Gorman said the issue is “shattering confidence” among farmers in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s ability to make payments on time.
“Farmers have been informed that no further cleared applicants will receive any payment until the start of next month,” he claimed.
“This is an unacceptable intrusion into the routine running of farmers’ businesses, with commitments to be met at this time of year, including payments to banks, merchants, and Revenue.”
Separately, another farm organisation source has also indicated that farmers will not receive payment under a number of schemes between this week and December 1, apparently due to administrative delays within the department.
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has weighed in on the issue, which has called on the department to “do whatever it takes” to ensure farmers receive all outstanding payments due to them without further delay.
“Countless farmers are yet to receive their ANC or BISS payments, with the majority of whom receiving no forewarning that there would be a hold up in their payments,” ICSA rural development chairperson Tim Farrell claimed.
“Lower income farmers, particularly in the sheep, beef, and suckler sectors, cannot cope without these payments. Bills need to be paid and supplies need to be got in for the winter but so many have just been left in limbo; left waiting for the department to get around to dealing with their case.
“It is unacceptable that so many are still waiting for payment with very little recourse to having their issues resolved,” Farrell added.
The scheme payment dates this year were already pushed back compared to previous years due to the administrative burden on department staff of implementing a new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
“The ICSA is aware that department personnel are having to deal with new administrative systems, but payment dates were rescheduled earlier in the year to cope with that. Despite considerable opposition from ICSA and other farming organisations, ANC payments were put back by four weeks and BISS payments by two weeks,” Farrell said.
“This should have provided adequate time for payments to be made on time, albeit on their rescheduled dates.
“It’s just not good enough that farmers must endure delays on already delayed payments. The department needs to do whatever it takes to get this mess sorted,” the ICSA rural development chair added.
Agriland has contacted the department for a comment on the issue.