Doubts over electronic ‘cheques’
The department pays about €1.6 billion annually to farmers, mostly made up of the EU’s single farm payment, worth more than €1.1bn per year to farmers.
The department says more than 65,000 farmers are now being paid all their entitlements through electronic transfer into their bank accounts.
They have written to farmers encouraging them to change over to payment by electronic transfer, pointing out that, they will have to do so anyway before the end of 2008.
The ‘cheque in the post’ is about to end, but the postman will still be delivering a statement from the Department of Agriculture to advise farmers of the amounts being transferred to their bank accounts.
However, Limerick IFA members have expressed reservations over electronic payment and referred the matter to the association’s national council for further discussion.
At their recent meeting, Limerick farmers questioned the department’s right to unilaterally change over to an all-electronic system. A view that each farmer should have the right to choose their payment system was expressed.
Donal Danaher, Shangolden, said: “If it is voluntary, that is acceptable, but there may be implications in the electronic transfer for people owing money, and they should not be forced to accept payment by transfer if they don’t want to.”
He asked if the department could withhold a payment if the farmer does not supply details of a bank account for electronic transfer.
Limerick IFA chairman Michael Roche said the farmer should have control of the cheque and where it goes. He suggested that some farmers will have to set up a separate account in the bank for direct payments.
