Macra has joined in the outrage expressed by farm organisations over delays to farm payments announced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) yesterday (Tuesday, October 13).

Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (CRISS) payments due to reach farmers this week will be delayed due to public sector strike action.

According to DAFM, payments under the BISS and CRISS schemes were scheduled to start this Friday (October 16).

The department said that "it is anticipated that these payments will now issue on Tuesday, October 27".

Farm organisations have slammed this delay, with Macra now calling on the department to "urgently take every possible step to minimise the unexpected and unacceptable 11-day delay".

The young farmer and rural youth organisation is insisting that farmers are paid sooner.

Macra president Josephine O'Neill said that the delay will place "huge additional financial pressure" on farm families, particularly young farmers, who depend on those payments to meet ongoing farm costs and loan repayments.

"DAFM has said that it has done all that it can to minimise the delay, but we cannot accept that an 11-day postponement is the best possible outcome for farmers," O'Neill said.

"It beggars belief that one day of strike action can delay payments by 11 days - the department must continue to explore every available avenue to get these payments out sooner than October 27," she added.

The Macra president said that the association recognises the "complexities" arising from the public sector strike, but that the impact on farmers must "remain a central consideration in efforts to resolve the situation as quickly as possible".

Macra said that the department has confirmed to it that there will be no impact from the strike on payments under the Complementary Income Support for Young (CISYF) scheme, which are scheduled for December.

"We welcome the department’s commitment today that CISYF payments will not be affected. However, that commitment must be honoured," O'Neill said.

"Young farmers need certainty that the support they are entitled to will arrive when expected, particularly at a time when cash flow is under pressure across the sector.

"The department must do everything within its power to minimise the current delay and provide farmers with confidence that future payments, including the young farmer top-up, will be delivered on schedule," the Macra president commented.