Payments Update – What’s Been Paid & when Your Payments Are Due

An update on the current situation on payments and when payments will be made for the remainder of the year.

Members can contact the IFA  with queries in relation to all Direct Payment schemes.  Give us a call on 1890-989878 or email [email protected].

Areas of Natural Constraint (ANCs)

Payments commenced on the 18th September.
At this stage 85,000 farmer have been paid at total of €187m. The total numbers of farmers due ANC payments is 95,000. The remaining farmers who have not been paid have mainly stocking rate issues. Payments will continue when the stocking rate criteria are sorted and in some cases will carry forward into 2018.

IFA secured €25m additional funding in Budget 2018. No decision has been made as to how it will be paid out.

Basic Payment & Greening

The 70% Advance Payment commenced on the 16th of October last. 111,000 farmers were paid in the first run, a total of €715m. This represented a 70% advance.

At this stage 117,500 have been paid, a total of €760m. This means that around 7,000 farmers are still due a payment. The main reason why payments are being held up due satellite inspections and subsequent mapping issues, over claims, under claims and other issues.

IFA is putting maximum pressure to ensure all payments are paid out immediately and that all the remaining 30% payment to all farmers will be made.

The remaining 30% payment will be made on 1st December.

Young Farmer Scheme

9,950 farmers have applied for the young farmer top-up in 2017. Payments under the YFS will commence on 1st December.

National Reserve

1,330 farmers have applied for the 2017 National Reserve. 200 of these cases were rejected.

Payments will commence on 1st December. It is uncertain whether there will be a National Reserve next year, but the fact that the full allocation is unlikely to be used this year as well as additional resources from clawback should lead to some funding being available.

GLAS

Most farmers who were awaiting their GLAS 1 and GLAS 2 have now been paid.

In relation to the final 15% for 2016, there are still around 5,000 nutrient management plans still outstanding which means that the final 15% cannot be paid. In order for 2017 payments to be made the NMPs must be submitted as otherwise the payment cannot be made. 50,000 farmers in GLAS 1, 2 & 3, will commence later this month.

IFA has demanded that the debacle of 2016/2017 payments is not repeated. The payment will be made with an 85% advance followed by the remaining 15%.

AEOS

All AEOS cases for 2016 are now paid. The remaining AEOS 3 cases (2,200) commenced in October.

TAMS

Payments under TAMS have increased significantly over the past month. 2,456 claims have been made for payment with 1,857 having received payment.

IFA is encouraging any farmers who has work completed to get their claim in for payment. It is estimated that there is sufficient funds in this year’s book of estimated to pay a further 1,500 farmers.

Beef Data and Genomics Scheme

24,500 farmers are in BDGP 1 & 2. Payments for 2017 will commence in December.

Knowledge Transfer (KT)

10,000 beef and sheep farmers have received their KT. Payments will commence for dairy farmers over the coming 10 days. In total 19,100 farmers are due a payment under the KT programme.

Organic Farming Scheme

There have been delays in the completion of 2016 payments. This is expected to be sorted out this month. An 85% advance of the OFS scheme will commence when GLAS advance payments have been completed.

IFA has criticised delays on the OFS scheme to the 1,700 farmers involved.

Sheep Welfare Scheme

Sheep welfare payment to 20,000 farmers will commence in November/December.