More than five years of organic REPS cash recovered in appeal

REPAYMENT of five years of REPS payments was the penalty faced by a farmer who was found to be in breach of the rules, and had his organic farming licence withdrawn by the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association.

The Department withheld payments for organic farming which had been due to be paid at the time for 1998/99 (his fifth year in the scheme) and requested the farmer to refund payments already made to him for all previous years along with interest on those payments.

The complainant felt the Department’s stance was unfair, as he had been properly licensed and approved for organic farming for the five years prior to the withdrawal of the licence. He appealed, and when no favourable response was forthcoming, he complained to Ombudsman, Kevin Murphy. Mr Murphy found that the terms and conditions of the 1994 scheme which applied in this case did not provide for the recoupment of monies paid out in previous years, for periods where a valid organic licence was held.