Cavan farmers to receive almost 6m under ncs scheme

Cavan farmers collectively stand to benefit to the tune of almost €6m after an announcement by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney under the 2015 Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme.

The Department of Agriculture have started to issue €117 million in payments to 57,000 farmers nationally, and of that €5,916,752.90 is set to be divvied out to landowners here in Cavan.

The Minister confirmed the scheme which replaces the Disadvantaged Area Scheme will continue to issue as individual cases are confirmed eligible for payment.

he Minister said “2015 saw the introduction of the new Basic Payment Scheme, the Greening Payment, GLAS and many more Pillar II Schemes. A significant number of farmers will be paid within the next few weeks as newly introduced processes are finalised.”

While the Department can confirm minimum stocking density requirement for the bulk of applicants through Department records, many farmers will only be confirmed as reaching this minimum requirement through the submission of the necessary manual records.

Farmers who have yet to satisfy the annual average stocking density of 0.15 livestock units per forage hectare for the calendar year have until the Dec 31, 2015 to do so. Such cases can only be cleared for payment once this requirement has been confirmed.

Farmers who have satisfied the Scheme stocking requirements, should submit relevant manual records for noting without delay, thereby facilitating the speedy processing of their applications and allowing their payments to issue.

Local Fine Gael Deputy Joe O'Reilly welcomed the announcement saying: “These payments will provide a financial boost for the 2,962 farmers in Cavan who have been approved to receive this payment.

“The Minister also confirmed that payments will continue to issue as individual farmers’ cases are confirmed eligible for payment.

“It is also expected that 70% of the Basic Payment Scheme will be paid from 16th October with balancing payments issuing from 1st December. It is essential that we continue to support farmers in every way we can during the current challenging times.

“Fine Gael’s top priority is to secure the economic recovery. We have a clear plan to build a strong economy generating the resources to invest in the services that people depend on and part of this plan includes driving the agri-food sector forward.”