The latest meeting of the Charter of Rights Monitoring Committee heard that over 2,500 farmers are still waiting on payments from the Department of Agriculture.
The delays, which mainly relate to Basic Payment, National Reserve and Young Farmers Top-Up, and involve partnerships, entitlement transfer and private contract clause cases, are complex.
IFA Deputy President, Tim O Leary told the Department of Agriculture that the ongoing payment delays are unacceptable and causing severe financial hardship for the farmers involved.
At the meeting, the Department provided the latest update on payments as follows:
- Basic Payment and Greening 122,291 farmers paid €1,100m
- Areas of Natural Constraint 93,500 farmers paid €198.9m
- Young Farmers and National Reserve 5,500 farmers paid
- Beef Data and Genomics Programme 17,500 farmers paid €32m
- TAMs II approvals 1,000 applicants
O Leary told the Charter Monitoring Committee Chairman Dr Sean Brady that he must take the clear message from the Charter Committee to Minister Coveney that additional resources must be provided in the Department towards resolving these outstanding cases and delivering payments, without further delay.
Meanwhile, the President of the ICSA Patrick Kent told the Association’s AGM that changes are required to deliver payments on time to all farmers,
The next Government, he said, must tackle the “unfairness of leaving some farmers waiting for their payments”.
The ongoing delays with the payments to young farmers is also causing severe pressure for many young farmers, according to Macra na Feirme.
Following recent contact from distressed young farmers, Sean Finan, Macra National President, has sought a meeting with the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney.
Macra wants to address the ongoing delays in CAP payment to young farmers and convey the anger and frustration of these farmers across the country.
These farmers were depending on payments in December last but have not yet received anything, Macra has stated.