IFA claim huge numbers of farmers still awaiting initial DAS payments

A HUGE number of farmers are still awaiting their initial Disadvantaged Area Scheme (DAS) payments, according to Ireland’s main farmer representative groups.

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) both welcomed the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food’s restatement this week of its month-old pledge to issue 50% of the Single Farm Payments next Monday, followed by the remaining 25% of the disadvantaged area payments on Wednesday.

However, the farm groups also noted that some farmers are still awaiting their initial DAS payment, in many cases having received no correspondence from the department to date. Given that the payment delays thus far have related to mapping problems and administrative backlogs, the farm groups remain dubious that all of their members will receive their payments on schedule.