IFA demands charter of rights to protect against late farm payments

Farmers need a new charter of rights to protect them against late issuing of farm payments, says IFA deputy president Eddie Downey.

Mr Downey has called on Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to begin discussions on a new charter. He was speaking in advance of 2012 single farm payment applications.

Mr Downey said: “Current delays under AEOS, TAMS and other schemes are unacceptable and a new charter urgently needs to be put in place to set down specific deadlines from application to processing and most importantly payment to farmers.”

He said it is unacceptable that farmers selected for inspection have their payment held up.

Mr Downey called for better co-ordination of inspections, the avoidance of duplication, increased tolerance and reduced penalties.