€21.7m of BPS penalties to be repaid to over 100,000 farmers

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said: "I am pleased to confirm that these payments are now being reimbursed to eligible farmers. File photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

More than €21.7m deducted from 2020 Basic Payment Scheme payments will be repaid to approximately 100,000 farmers, over the next few days.

This money was deducted from BPS payments under Financial Discipline and is now being reimbursed to farmers in line with the EU regulations.

Commenting, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said: "I am pleased to confirm that these payments are now being reimbursed to eligible farmers. These payments will bring the total paid to Irish farmers under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme to over €1.183bn."

The financial discipline mechanism is part of the annual budgetary procedure of the European Union.

The mechanism involves a monetary deduction (2.9% for the 2020 reduction) from some direct payments for the provision of a financial Crisis Reserve for the European Union.

The Crisis Reserve is intended to provide additional support for the agricultural sector in the case of major crises affecting agricultural production or distribution.

If the Crisis Reserve is not activated in the financial year, or it is not fully utilised, the unused balance is refunded to farmers in the subsequent financial year.