More than half of farmer payment appeals rejected

More than half of all farmer appeals against the Department of Agriculture’s withholding of EU payments are unsuccessful.

44.5% of appeals in 2015 were rejected, while 14.55% were invalid, withdrawn, or out of time, according to the latest annual report from the Agriculture Appeals Office. 41% of applicants were successful.

A recent High Court ruling questioned the Department of Agriculture’s compliance with EU decisionmaking regulations regarding payment schemes.