merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D., has today announced that payments under the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme have commenced with payments worth just under €182 million issuing this week to almost 85,000 farmers.

The Minister commented “I am delighted to announce that payments totalling €182 million have issued to almost 85,000 farmers in the first tranche of advance payments under the ANC scheme.  This is in line with previous years. I am conscious of the importance of the timely delivery of payments under the ANC scheme. The ANC scheme is a crucial one for so many farm families and I was keen to issue payments as soon as possible. These payments represent a timely and significant financial boost for farmers and for the wider rural economy.  The issuing of these payments in mid-September underscores my determination to maximise payments to farmers at the earliest possible time.”

The Minister continued by saying “Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days and the Department will continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria.”

The Minister also confirmed that arrangements are being made by the Department to facilitate payment of the advance of 70% under the Basic Payment Scheme with effect from 18 October 2021. 

All Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine initiatives are undertaken as part of the Department’s Action Plan 2021, which is available at gov.ie - Statement of Strategy 2021 - 2024 (www.gov.ie)

Note for Editors

In line with last year’s arrangement, the payments currently issuing are an 85% advance payment on the ANC Scheme. 15% balancing payments are due to commence in early December.

In line with previous years, not all applications are currently cleared for payment under the ANC Scheme.  In particular, many farmers have yet to satisfy the annual average stocking density of 0.15 livestock units per forage hectare for the calendar year.  However, farmers have until 31 December 2021 to do so. Such cases can only be cleared for payment once this requirement has been confirmed.

Regular pay runs will continue in the coming weeks to ensure cleared cases are processed for payment as quickly as possible.  Farmers should submit any outstanding stocking evidence in support of their application to the Department’s Portlaoise Office as soon as possible to facilitate the early release of payments.