CRISS, or front-loading of payments, is unlikely to move from the current proposed level of funding.

Last week, Minister Charlie McConalogue announced that CRISS would be allocated 10% of the overall Pillar I payments, amounting to €118m a year from 2023 to 2027. This will be paid out on the first 30ha at a rate of about €44/ha.

When questioned as to why it was set at 10% at meetings in Tullow, Kilkenny and Thurles last week, McConalogue said that it was mandatory to transfer 10% of funds from larger farmers to smaller farmers, and that CRISS was the mechanism for this.

Maximum payment effect

There were suggestions from farmers that the decision to opt for the lowest possible maximum payment of €66,000 could be portrayed as another form of shift of payments from large to small farmers.

However, the amount of money concerned is reckoned to only be a couple of million euro annually. This is because that threshold only comes into effect after CRISS, eco schemes and indeed convergence have been factored into current payments.

It’s also understood that the €66,000 threshold is for BISS payments only, not eco schemes or CRISS.

For this reason, it could only have a marginal effect, and will not mitigate the need for 10% CRISS.