Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Claire Kerrane has called for an immediate response from Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue on farm payment delays.
Deputy Kerrane claimed that “many farmers” are still awaiting advance payments for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC)
In March, Minister McConalogue confirmed delays of up to a month for BISS and ANC payments this year, such payments are usually made in September.
Advance payments under the schemes began issuing to farmers from the last week of October.
Farm payment
Deputy Kerrane said that she had highlighted to Minister McConalogue “the serious pressure that farmers would be under by delaying BISS and ANC payments by a month”.
“Despite these concerns, which were echoed by farmers and representative organisations, the payments began issuing several weeks ago in late October.
“Yet, if these delays weren’t bad enough, I understand that many farmers are still awaiting their BISS and ANC payments. This delay to already delayed payments is not good enough.
“I understand that, to add insult to injury, many farmers received no forewarning about these additional delays. They have been left in limbo waiting for the department to respond,” she said.
Bills
Deputy Kerrane said that she has been contacted by farmers who are “increasingly frustrated” with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
“Farmers have bills to pay and cannot wait any longer for these much-needed and heavily relied-upon payments.
“This point has been reiterated this week by representative organisations such as the ICSA, who have pointed out that lower-income farmers simply cannot cope without these payments,” she said.
The Sinn Féin TD has contacted Minister McConalogue to confirm how many farmers have been impacted by further delays to their BISS and ANC payments and clarify how he intends to resolve the issue.
“Time is up and the minister and his department must do whatever is necessary to get all outstanding payments issued immediately,” Kerrane said.
Minister McConalogue previously stated that his department would “continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria”.