TD demands answers on 11-day delay to farm payments
Independent TD Carol Nolan said she is seeking "clarification" on the farm scheme payments delay.
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 the public sector strike action.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) payments under the BISS and CRISS schemes were scheduled to start this Friday (October 16).
In a statement to Agriland, DAFM confirmed that as a result of the industrial action "it is anticipated that these payments will now issue on Tuesday, October 27".
Farm payments
Deputy Nolan has called on Minister Martin Heydon to explain why some farm payments have been delayed as a result of today's public sector strike "while social welfare payments have been protected from disruption", as confirmed by the Department of Social Protection.
"If the state can rightly and correctly ensure that social welfare payments continue unaffected during today’s industrial action, why could similar arrangements not have been put in place to protect vital farm payments,” deputy Nolan said.
"For many farm families, these payments are a core part of their annual income and are relied upon for cash flow, loan repayments, feed bills, contractor costs and other day-to-day expenses.
"But what makes this situation particularly difficult to understand is that we are being told that one day of strike action has resulted in an 11-day delay to payments that farmers were expecting to receive this week."
'Full explanation' needed
Deputy Nolan said the government must provide a "full explanation" of why farmers have been "left exposed to disruption while protections were put in place elsewhere across the public service".
"Farmers are every bit as dependent on timely state payments as any other group. They deserve the same level of consideration and advance planning," she said.
"I am seeking clarification from the minister on what contingency planning was undertaken ahead of the strike, what options were explored to minimise disruption, and what steps will now be taken to ensure farmers receive their payments as quickly as possible.
"Farmers have enough pressures to contend with without uncertainty around payments they have already earned and budgeted for.
"The government must explain how this situation arose and ensure that it cannot happen again."
