The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) president Sean McNamara has welcomed the agreement reached on an updated Farmers’ Charter of Rights.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and farm organisations reached final consensus on new charter at a meeting held yesterday (Tuesday, July 2).
The charter sets out the timelines for applications, payments, inspections and appeals.
ICSA
Sean McNamara said that the negotiations around the formation of this Farmers’ Charter “have been lengthy and fraught at times”.
“I am pleased that we have now reached an agreement that provides much-needed security for farmers regarding timelines for scheme applications, scheme payments, inspections, and appeals,” he added.
The ICSA president said that concerns about delayed Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) payments being classified as “overpayments” were addressed by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue during yesterday’s meeting.
“The minister acknowledged that there is an obligation on the department ‘to make recoupments in the cases of any overpayment arising from interim payments at the first opportunity’.
“This means that because ACRES interim payments were classified as overpayments, their system will look to claw back interim monies paid out from any scheme payment that falls due to a farmer.
“However, the minister added that he has asked his department ‘to engage positively with any farmer that contacts them and show flexibility in cases of financial hardship’.
“This is crucial, and I encourage any concerned farmer to contact the department.
“Doing so will help protect their payments from other schemes and ensure they receive the full payments as they come due,” McNamara said.
The ICSA president also outlined the following guarantees contained in the Farmers’ Charter:
- Farm payments will return to the traditional schedule in 2024;
- Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) payments will resume the third week of September;
- If deadlines are missed, the Charter Monitoring Committee will convene to resolve issues;
- The department has given a commitment to fully engage with farm organisations on the development of new schemes and any subsequent changes to scheme terms and conditions;
- Farm inspections, for the most part, will be announced in advance;
- Inspectors must provide a preliminary report before leaving the farm.
The ICSA said the focus will now move to the Charter’s Monitoring Committee which includes DAFM officials and representatives from farm organisations.
“This will allow us to hold the department accountable for all the commitments they have made,” ICSA stated.