CAP PAYMENTS: See where in the country almost 1,900 farmers received over €50k
An analysis of information on EU farm payments published by the Department of Agriculture reveals around 130,000 farmers, farm businesses, co-ops, leader partnerships, and local development companies received more than €1.7bn in 2014, including €1.2bn under CAP payments. The other funding relates to monies pad out under development, farm improvement and environmental schemes.
The information on individual farmer earnings has been published in all EU states, despite strong criticism from farming representative bodies including the Irish Farmers’ Association.
It reveals that only 228 farmers nationwide — or less than 0.2% of all recipients — received a payment of more than €100,000 under the single payment scheme.
The national average payment for all farmers was €9,810 in 2014.
Meath accounted for the greatest number of farmers earning over €100,000 with 33 farmers, followed by Cork (31) and Tipperary (24).
No farmer from Longford, Monaghan, or Sligo received a six-figure sum under the scheme which is the single biggest source of income for the majority of Irish farmers.
Although only 10 farmers in Dublin were paid in excess of €100,000, such large payments accounted for 1.3% of all farmers in the county — a rate over six times higher than the national average.
A disproportionately high number of farmers — more than twice the national average — from Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Louth, Meath, and Waterford also received payments over €50,000.
Cork received the biggest allocation under the single payment scheme with 12,763 farmers receiving more than €164m, resulting in an average payment of €12,865.
The highest average payments under the scheme went to farmers in Waterford where they averaged €16,048. Average payments to farmers also exceeded €15,000 in Kildare, Kilkenny and Wexford.
Farmers in Mayo, which are the third largest group in Ireland after Cork and Galway, received the lowest average payment at €5,281 followed by Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal where average payments were also below 6,000.
Wexford farmer, Walter Furlong, received the largest individual amount under the single payment scheme last year with funding of 367,649.
Other high earners were O’Shea Farms of Piltown, Co Kilkenny (€316,144) and Tipperary farmer, John Baptist Doyle (€309,611).
The figures also reveal that 246 farmers from Northern Ireland were paid EU monies totalling €1,729,664 through the Department of Agriculture under the single payment scheme, although none received over €50,000.
In addition, similar payments of €37,363 were made to nine people living outside the island of Ireland, including one US-based individual, James Buckley. Such payments are derived from looking after farmland and meeting various agricultural standards governing the environment, animal welfare and food safety.
The IFA and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association have both expressed concern that publishing such information represents a security threat as well as an invasion of farmers’ privacy.
The publication of details of CAP payments was halted by the EU in 2010 on data protection grounds. However, the practice has now resumed following the introduction of new regulations, although information concerning a farmer’s address is restricted to the municipal district in which they live. In addition, only information on CAP payments over €1,250 has been published.
IFA president Eddie Downey has called on Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to challenge what he called as an “infringement” on farmers’ rights to privacy concerning their personal financial data.
A Department of Agriculture spokesperson said EU member states had no discretion in relation to the publication of such funding as it was required by the European Commission for reasons of transparency.
Meanwhile the single biggest recipient of combined EU agriculture funds last year was Ballyhoura Development in Co Limerick which picked up over €5.3m in Leader funding.
John and Peter Queally, directors of Dawn Meats were paid almost €687,000 including €440,000 to improve the competitiveness of their farm. Cork farmer, Thomas O’Brien from Cobh, received a payment of €444,412, also receiving €440,000 for farm improvement measures.
Under CAP reform, the single payment scheme is being replaced this year by a new basic payment scheme and greening payment. It also follows the principle that the value of the direct payment is no longer linked to the agricultural production of individual farmers.
Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has claimed the most significant feature of CAP reform is the process of “convergence” which will see farmers with low value entitlements receiving higher payments. In contrast, farmers with higher value entitlements will see their payments decrease over a five-year period.
Under the scheme, all entitlements will have a minimum value of 60% of the national average payments and no farmer will receive a payment of more than €700 per hectare by 2019.
