Nearly 100,000 farmers awaiting the €25m increase in ANC payments promised in Budget 2018 will have to wait for more steps to be completed before the money hits their pockets, most likely at the end of the year.
Consultation with the farming organisations on the Rural Development Programme (RDP) monitoring committee has yet to take place to decide on how the €25m will be distributed between farmers, with Minister Michael Creed favouring targeted increases for those most disadvantaged.
His department will then request a formal RDP amendment from the European Commission, which is expected to take “a number of weeks”.