Farm loans face 6-month delay

It is taking up to six months for loans to farmers to be cleared — and new layers of bureaucracy imposed by the Financial Regulator are to blame, said IFA president John Bryan this week.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the Bank of Ireland in Kilkenny, Mr Bryan said extra bureaucracy delaying decisions on loans to farm businesses, resulting in massively increased costs.

“When we needed strong regulation of banking, we did not have it. Now that the horse has bolted, and the country is in crisis, the level of over-regulation is stifling investment.”