Speaking at the Women & Agriculture Conference in Sligo on Thursday, Minister Creed said: “We are waiting on approval from the Commission but we are doing a lot of tick-tacking and don’t anticipate any last-minute hitches.”
Once the Department of Agriculture obtains approval from Brussels, it will begin the application process. However, it could be well into next year before sheep farmers receive payments.
“Payment will be in 2017 and we will be aiming for the earliest date possible, but we have to get applications in and do spot checks,” Minister Creed said. While it would be best to have the funds in farmers’ pockets at the time of big expenses in late spring and early summer, he admitted that this was unlikely. ”We would like to, but it would be a challenge to get a payment that early,” he said.
Read moreBudget 2017: what you need to know about the new sheep scheme