40,000 farmers still await payments held up by mapping difficulties

UP to 40,000 farmers are still awaiting payments which have been either fully or partially held up by the mapping difficulties in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Farmers have been consistently phoning the regional and national offices of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), complaining that the long-delayed payments which were due to arrive on Monday have still not reached their bank accounts.

The IFA estimates that the department is holding back more than €100m in single farm payment and disadvantage area payments. This delay is having a devastating impact upon people’s lives, claim farmers who are calling the IFA offices.

IFA president John Bryan said: “The problem is that people have made plans for this money.

“This money wouldn’t be sitting around while people wait to decide what to do with it. This is money they intended to pay contractors or feed bills.

“Calls have been coming in from offices all around the country.

“The payments were intended to be flowing in from midnight on Monday, and people are just stunned that they’re not seeing the money they had hoped would be there by now.

“We are saying to the department that they should just get the money out now, to get that problem solved first, and then deal with their own mapping problems in their own time.”

The IFA president said it is the minister’s responsibility to ensure that his department make the payments on time to farmers. He said the farmers did not create the mapping mess. The department has accepted that the bulk of the errors in the applications processes for both delayed payments are departmental issues, primarily relating to mapping.

The IFA president said that 106,000 farmers have received an advance Single Farm Payment at this stage, while 87,000 have received €165m in Disadvantage Area payments.

John Bryan called on the minister to instruct his department to return all files immediately which are still out despite the fact that inspections have been completed on these farms.

Mr Bryan concluded: “It is totally unacceptable that inspections are holding up payments.

“Mr Smith must prioritise the resolution to the mapping debacle and allocate the necessary resources in order that all farmers are paid without any further delay.”