Closing date extended for €2.8m Horticulture Exceptional Payment Scheme

The scheme had been due to close at midnight this Friday (June 17).

The closing date for the Horticulture Exceptional Payment Scheme (HEPS) has been extended by a week, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has announced today.

The scheme had been due to close at midnight this Friday (June 17), but will instead close at midnight on Friday, June 24, 2022.

HEPS, which opened earlier this month, will provide support in the form of a once-off payment to growers in the critically important Irish horticulture sector.

The subsectors at most risk and included under this scheme include commercial growers in the glasshouse high-wire crops, field vegetable, mushroom and apple sectors. It is designed to ensure the short-term security and thus the long-term viability of these sectors.

The support measure, which is worth €2.8 million, is funded by Ireland’s allocation for exceptional adjustment aid to producers in agricultural sectors which have been impacted by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, as announced by the European Commission on March 23.

Payments to eligible growers will be made by the end of September.

How to apply

To be eligible, applicants must have an annual turnover of €50,000 or more. They must also either be a certified member of the Bord Bia Sustainable Horticulture Assurance Scheme (SHAS) or equivalent alternative scheme Alternatively, they must be a certified organic horticulture producer or provide documentary proof that they have used environmental and climate-friendly production methods.

The fund also includes €1m for field vegetable growers, €600,000 for mushroom growers and €200,000 for apple growers.

Payment rates Payments to growers of high-wire crops, field vegetables and apples will be made on an area basis (per hectare) for crops being grown in 2022. For mushrooms, payments will be calculated on the level of mushrooms sold and will be based on the quantity (weight in kg) of mushrooms sold over the period from January 1, 2022, to April 30, 2022.

The rate of payment will depend on the total areas and quantities applied for. Payments will be capped at €100,000.

Completed application forms and supporting documentation should be emailed to [e-mail].