merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, announced today "that 2012 agri-environment payments will commence issuing this week”. I am very pleased to say that these payments will be issuing ahead of schedule, particularly given their importance to farmers and the wider rural community”’ the Minister said.

Payments will issue to AEOS 1 participants, followed by REPS 4 payments the following week and finally AEOS 2 payments shortly thereafter. Minister Coveney said that he was particularly pleased that payments under these schemes would commence in November this year and in greater numbers than in previous years. He added that he expected that over €150 million more would issue to participants of these schemes by the end of the year. He said that this would bring the total expenditure under REPS and AEOS in 2012 to €243 million.

Balancing payments under the 2012 Single Payment Scheme are on target to begin issuing as and from 1 December. With regard to the Scheme Minister Coveney went on to say;

“I remain confident that, by year-end, payments under the Single Payment Scheme will be in excess of €1.2 billion, while a further €210 million will have been paid under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme” the Minister said. “Given the adverse financial climate in which we all find ourselves, I am very pleased to see this level of payments being made, he added noting “the injection of over €1.4 billion into the rural economy in the relatively short, three month, period since payments commenced, benefits not only individual farmers, but also those businesses with whom farmers interact on a daily basis”.

The Minister confirmed that payments would continue to be made in the coming weeks as unclear applications continue to be processed by his Department and took the opportunity to again remind anyone who has received correspondence from his Department to respond immediately, thereby facilitating the early release of their payments.

Note for Editors:

There are approximately 30,000 farmers participating in REPS 4. These applicants are at various stages of their 5 year contract. There are just under 8,000 farmers in AEOS I who are now entering their second full year of their contract with the Department. Under AEOS II there are over 6,000 farmers who are now entering the first full year of their contract.