Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has been called on to ensure that his Department delivers the maximum number of Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) payments from 16 September.

Deputy president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) Eamon Carroll said payment dates must be adhered to given the unrelenting cashflow pressures on farmers this year.

Acknowledging the Minister’s commitment to revert to 2022 payment dates after the delay in 2023, Carroll said that the focus now needs to be on ensuring that all farmers are paid in the third week of the month.

He said that while no one doubted that problems may occur, the onus was “absolutely” on the Department to notify farmers in time of those issues with responsibility for addressing any problems then switching to the farmers and their advisers.

The ICMSA said that based on the charter commitment, the Department undertook to notify all farmers of any problem by 3 September, giving farmers about 15 days to respond to queries.

Carroll said that the Minister should confirm that all queries have now been issued to farmers and he said it would be “very useful” if a reminder was issued to farmers and their advisers if they have not responded by Friday 13 September.

Paying bills

“We are entering a period where farmers traditionally pay their bills and it will be a real struggle for many given the very difficult and expensive last year.

“Getting your due payments on time is a big help and we call on the Minister to ensure the maximum payment number in the third week of September as committed to in the Farmers' Charter just recently concluded.

“In addition, the charter committee should meet shortly to address any potential difficulties with the ANC/BISS/eco schemes and also particular concerns at present in relation to TAMS and ACRES,” he said.