Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
25. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the further measures his Department will take to address delays in payments; what outstanding challenges there are to ensuring that BISS and ANC payments can be made on time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34615/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am fully committed to making payments to farmers under the various CAP schemes at the earliest date possible and to the maximum number of farmers possible. I know first hand the critical importance of these payments to all farmers. This commitment to farmers is evidenced in the very high payment rates achieved across all schemes over the last number of years in both EU and Exchequer funded schemes.
The new CAP 2023-2027 has commenced this year and payments will issue in the fourth quarter of the year across a very broad range of schemes. With this being the first year of the new CAP Strategic Plan, a whole range of new schemes are being introduced along with substantial changes to existing schemes, over a relatively short time period.
Almost €1.8bn will be paid to farmers across the country for 2023 schemes. At EU level, Ireland ranks amongst the most efficient Member States in getting payments to farmers expediently and in line with the legal requirements of relevant attendant EU Regulation, and will continue to do so.
The new CAP represents a significant evolution of the policy compared to previous iterations. There are substantial changes to all schemes in 2023, for example, the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) is replaced by the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS). While payment will still be paid based on Payment Entitlements, there are substantial changes to the BISS compared to the BPS, including very positive changes to land eligibility and a new active farmer check. These are all important changes, which will benefit farmers.
A number of new schemes are also being introduced in a short space of time, including the new Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) Scheme and the Eco-scheme.
The timelines for all schemes, including the planned payment dates in 2023, have been set out taking account of the impact of introducing a whole suite of new schemes and new IT systems to process applications and make payments. The timelines are the best that can be delivered in 2023.
I have committed to reviewing the timelines and the payment dates for next year.
