State faces €181m bill over farmers’ claims

The taxpayer may have to pay up to €181m for wrongful claims made by farmers from the EU’s agriculture fund.

Irish farmers already escaped repaying about €3.7m they had wrongfully claimed from the EU when the State picked up the bill, according to the European Court of Auditors.

The Department of Agriculture said it was in talks with the European Commission about the issue, and who should pay it.