Department pays out €1.25m under AEOS after 9-month delay

FARMERS have issued a cautious welcome to the release of the first AEOS 1 payments by the Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney announced yesterday that 8,400 farmers who applied for AEOS by the closing date of May 17, 2010, have been approved for the scheme. The first tranche of payments have been issued and the rest will be paid on an ongoing basis.

Under EU rules, administrative checks for all applicants had to be completed before the first payments could issue.