Farmers begin to receive ANC balancing payments
The scheme provides payments to people farming land in designated areas that face significant hardships from factors such as remoteness, difficult topography, climatic problems, and poor soil conditions.
Farmers are beginning to receive Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme balancing payments, the Department of Agriculture confirmed on Friday.
The scheme provides payments to people farming land in designated areas that face significant hardships from factors such as remoteness, difficult topography, climatic problems, and poor soil conditions.
The total paid to date to 95,000 farmers under the 2023 ANC scheme amounts to some €238m.
This is in line with the numbers paid in 2022.
Advance payments under the scheme began issuing in October.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said that the timely processing of scheme payments "remains a key priority for me and my department".
"I know how crucial payments are, especially at this time of year," Mr McConalogue said.
"Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days and my department will continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria.
"I have also given the commitment through the Farmer’s Charter that payments in 2024 will return to the traditional date of the third week of September, which is the week of the ploughing championships."
The minister also confirmed that arrangements are being made by his department to facilitate payment of the balancing under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) from December 4.
