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Minister McConalogue announces €179 million of payments under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme
Minister McConalogue announces €179 million of payments under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D. announced payments under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme have commenced issuing to farmers.
“I am delighted to announce that advance payments totalling €179 million have issued to over 85,000 farmers under the ANC scheme. I wrote to farmers in March and again just a few weeks ago to explain that there would be some changes to payment dates in 2023 due to this being the first year of the new CAP Strategic Plan. A whole range of new schemes have been introduced along with substantial changes to existing schemes over a relatively short period and payments commencing today is a significant milestone achieved.”
The Minister further commented:
“The issuing of payments under the ANC scheme is crucial to farm families and I know the importance of getting payments out as quickly as possible. Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days and my 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 his department is on track to commence payments of the advance under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) from 24 October and Eco Scheme payments from the 31 October 2023.
The issuing of €179 million to over 85,000 farmers is in line with previous years, with 85,000 farmers paid in the first pay run in 2022.
In order to facilitate farmers wishing to contact the Department regarding their ANC or BISS payments, extended hours are in place for the Direct Payments Helpdesk. From Tuesday 17th October to Thursday 19th October, the Helpdesk will be available up to 8.30pm. Farmers can ring the Helpdesk at 057-8674422. Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie.
In line with last year’s arrangement, the payments currently issuing are an 85% advance payment on the ANC Scheme. The 15% of 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. 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 evidence in support of their application to the department’s Portlaoise Office as soon as possible to facilitate the early release of payments.