The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) issued over €6.7 million to farmers in outstanding scheme payments last week.

According to data published by the department, the vast majority of this figure relates to €4.94 million issued to farmers participating in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP).

Almost 17,000 farmers have now received a total of €56.48 million through the scheme which aims to improve the environmental sustainability of the national beef herd.

In the week up to last Friday (July 12), the department issued over €1.3 million in Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) payments.

Just over €1 million was issued to farmers under TAMS 3, while €364,525 was paid out for TAMS 2 projects.

DAFM also stated that farmers received a further €207,502 in 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Complimentary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) payments.

In total, 120,434 farmers have now received BISS and CRISS payments totalling over €844 million.

This figure includes 2023 Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (€37.6 million) and 2023 National Reserve (€4.6 million).

The data shows that €130,000 was issued for the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), 3,906 farmers have now received €47.5 million under this scheme.

The department also paid out €40,315 under the 2023 Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) and Areas of Specific Constraint (ASC), €9,000 for Green, Low-carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) and €8,240 under the Tillage Incentive Scheme (TIS).

Meanwhile, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has reasserted that all farmers with eligible suckler cows that produced an eligible calf during the relevant period are eligible to apply for this year’s Beef Welfare Scheme.

The €20 million scheme will open for applications in August.

The focus of the 2024 BWS will be “on practical measures to enhance animal health and husbandry on suckler farms”.

However, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has claimed that the conditions of the scheme, effectively meant that autumn-born weanlings would be “frozen out”.