The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has announced that it will attend a meeting of the Farmers’ Charter today (Wednesday, November 1).
Earlier this year the association made the decision not to attend Farmers’ Charter meetings in protest over a push-back in some scheme payment dates this year.
This came after the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) had informed farm organisations of its plan for new payment dates at a meeting in March.
IFA
IFA deputy president Brian Rushe said that the association was “completely opposed” to delays in the 2023 payments dates which was announced for two schemes.
These new dates for payments this year were implemented “unilaterally” by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, the IFA deputy president said.
“While the 2023 scenario is totally unacceptable, the assurances that the payment dates will be restored for 2024 and beyond is now in the draft charter document.
“However, the draft document circulated before the meeting today needs more work and our delegation will be raising a number of these issues at the meeting today,” Rushe said.
The 2023 payment dates for both the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) and the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme had been delayed this year.
Minister McConalogue confirmed in September, however, that the approved 2024 payments will be made on the dates that had applied in 2022.