The new Farmers’ Charter has been published online, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has announced.

This comes as farm organisations said the Minister’s decision this Wednesday to pull the Straw Incorporation Measure for 2024 “flies in the face” of this charter.

An agreement was reached recently between the Department of Agriculture and representatives of the country’s main farming organisations on a new Farmers’ Charter.

The agreed Farmers’ Charter 2023 to 2027 is now available to view on the Department’s website.

Payment timelines

The charter sets out the timelines for applications, payments, inspections and appeals. The new charter came into effect immediately on publication.

Following an agreement on the Farmers’ Charter, a charter monitoring committee will be established to monitor agreed targets and standards.

This committee will be comprised of representatives from the farm organisations and staff of the Department.

Minister McConalogue has appointed Dr Seán Brady as the independent chair of the committee. His appointment was unanimously supported by farm organisations.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA), Macra, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) and the Irish Co-operative Society (ICOS) participated in the negotiations on the charter.