The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, has announced the commencement of advance payments under the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and the Greening Payment.
Over €700 million to 111,000 farmers will now be sent out to farmers across the country with €33,889,000 paid out locally.
Donegal TD Joe McHugh says: “These payments will benefit 7,492 farmers here in Donegal and will have positive knock-on effects to our rural communities as a whole.”
“Farm families are the heartbeat of the rural economy and our vision for the sector will inspire the next generation to continue the tradition of family farming,” added McHugh.
Following recent discussions with the EU Commission, Minister Creed also confirmed that the level of the advance payment is set at 70% for 2017 rather than 50% as provided for in the EU legislation.
Payments under the Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme also continue to issue as cases are cleared for payment.
Minister Creed added that “the advance BPS payment and the ANC payments taken together mean that over €880 million has now issued to Irish farmers in the last month. These payments provide a significant financial boost for individual farmers and the wider rural economy.
“I was delighted to secure an increase in the ANC scheme allocation for 2018. This €25 million increase will provide direct financial support to farmers in the most marginal areas of the country.”
The Agriculture Minister indicated that advance payments will continue issuing regularly until mid-November, with balancing payments to commence issuing from early December.
The Minister also confirmed that payments under the 2017 National Reserve and Young Farmers Scheme will commence early in December 2017.
Minister Creed concluded: “Payments under the BPS and ANC scheme will continue to issue as individual cases are cleared. I will continue to prioritise the ongoing processing of payments, subject to the requirements of the schemes being met.”
In order to facilitate farmers who wish to contact the Department in relation to their BPS or ANC payments, extended hours are now in place for the Direct Payments Helpline.
For the period from 17th October to 21st October, farmers can ring the Department at 076 106 4420 between 9am and 8.30pm on weekdays and from 9am to 1pm on Saturday.