The latest scheme payments update published by the Department of Agriculture shows €20.7m paid under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and the Complementary Redistributive Income Support Scheme (CRISS) to 3,347 applicants in the last week.

This brings the total payment rate to €485m paid to 109,104 applicants.

Going on previous year’s figures of about 122,000 farmers receiving a payment under the Basic Payment Scheme, it leaves about 13,000 applicants awaiting payment.

There was also in the region of €4m paid to 1,424 applicants under the eco scheme. Total payments under the scheme now stand at €188m paid to 107,561 applicants.

Stocking rate

The final scheme currently being paid out is the areas of natural constraint (ANC). Payments under the ANC were also recorded just shy of €4m last week with approximately €3.9m paid to 1,560 applicants.

Reports indicate the greatest factor delaying remaining payments under the ANC is applicants who have not yet satisfied the stocking rate calculations.

Under the scheme, applicants must satisfy a minimum stocking rate of at least 0.1LU/ha over the calendar year and also possess this minimum stocking rate across a minimum 28-week consecutive period.