REPS 4 boost for farmers

MORE than 3,000 Rural Environment Protection Scheme farmers can join REPS 4 when their existing contracts come to an end this year, Minister Mary Coughlan announced yesterday.

Ms Coughlan also confirmed there would be no change in payment rules for the 54,000 farmers still in REPS 2 and REPS 3.

Ms Coughlan said she had secured a change in European Commission rules to allow the significant concession on REPS 4.

New regulations would have meant that most farmers with REPS contracts ending in 2008 would have had to wait until 2009 to join REPS 4 and would not have got any payment until early autumn of next year.