There has been “little or no progress” made on the department’s delayed payments plan for 2023 schemes, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) deputy president, Brian Rushe.
However, Rushe said that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has accepted that letters issued to farmers without the agreement or without communication with the Farmers’ Charter group, should not have happened.
The minister attended and chaired the latest Farmers’ Charter of Rights meeting yesterday (April 27).
The letters issued to farmers outlining details of the new payment schedule were printed by the department in February. The March Charter of Rights meeting was not informed of this communication and subsequently the IFA rejected the schedule.
The IFA also did not attend a previous meeting of the Farmers’ Charter of Rights in protest over the government’s plan to push back dates of payments for a number of schemes.
According to Rushe it has now been agreed that an independent chair will be appointed to the charter before the next meeting on May, 11.
Speaking to Agriland the IFA deputy president described this as “a welcome development”.
Rushe said:
“In order to make sure that everyone gets fair hearing, I think it’s only right that it should be chaired by an independent body.”
He said what had happened so far had been a “charade with no opportunity of any meaningful engagement in developing a charter that is fit for purpose.
“The only dates we will be agreeing to will be the same dates as within the previous charter,” Rushe said.
The IFA deputy chair said that he was speaking from a “farmer’s point of view” and that a lot of farmers “rely on payments for kids going back to university”.
“It’s an important few quid in a very tight timeline,” he warned.
Minister and payments
Rushe has warned that the minister now needs to take control of the situation – “whether that’s extra staff or the introduction of a temporary or interim payment”.
He said:
“There is a risk that department action will cause significant cashflow issues later this year as bills fall without there being money in farmers accounts to meet repayments.”
Rushe also explained that a short-term fix is needed if the department is not in a position to provide all payments on schedule.
He said that the minister “should consider intervening and supporting farmers who will find themselves in cashflow difficulty as a result of getting their money a month late”.
Last month farmers were informed that the dates for Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) payments would be be pushed back to October 17, and Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) payments to be pushed back from October 24.
Rushe has said that the first issue which should be addressed at the next charter meeting should be the proposed payment dates for the Common Agricultural Policy CAP schemes for this year.