Latest news with #BISS
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Health
- Irish Independent
Around the Districts: Dromahair and Enniscrone-Kilglass
Cycle in Honour of Conor In memory of Conor Torsney, family and friends will embark on a 90km cycle taking in parts of Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo on June 14. Please support our cyclists. All proceeds to the development of the Dromahair Community Park. North West Hospice appeal for volunteers for Sunflower Day. Sunflower Days in aid of North West Hospice take place from June 5 to June 6. If you could volunteer to spare an hour or two in your local area to help out with Sunflower Days, please contact North West Hospice at 071 9170523 or email fundraise@ All funds raised from Sunflower Days go directly towards patient care. Dromahair Development Association blotto draw Our blotto draw took place in the Depot on Tuesday, May 27. The numbers drawn were 03, 13, 16 and 26 and our jackpot of €7,850 was not won. Our five winners of €30 were Dessie McPartland, Caroline McCafferty, Julia McGuinness, Steven Kelly and Pat Kelly. Our next blotto draw will take place in the Depot on Tuesday, June 10, and our jackpot will be €7,900. Watch out for the QR Code stickers that are up in different locations around the village. They will give you quick access to the draw online. Get your envelopes now in local businesses, we need your support. Good luck and thank you everyone for your continued much needed support. Clean ups of Dromahair Village Dromahair Development Association/Tidy Towns hold clean-ups of the village of Dromahair every Wednesday for the summer months, meeting at the Depot at 7 p.m. If you would like to join our team of volunteers you can contact the Depot Office, Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 071 9134986 or 085 8017943, leave your contact details and we will notify you of the next clean-up. Any help that you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Tidy Towns in Dromahair Tidy Towns season is upon us so it would be great if residents and businesses could keep an eye on weeds and litter on their own property through May onwards as we have a small group of volunteers and we really need your help. Rural Social Scheme Workers Location: North/Mid Leitrim. Jobs: Environmental, administration, social care and caretaking. Must have active family herd number with an active BISS application. Must be receiving a Social Welfare payment. For more information or to apply contact brianmcgloin@ or 086 8521791. Faragher-McLoughlin School of Irish Dance Irish Dancing Classes, boys and girls age 4+. Manorhamilton: Tuesday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Kinlough: Wednesday 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Garrison: Thursday 5.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Contact Clare McMorrow TCRG 087 2720068, Aidan McLoughlin ADCRG 086 3811464 and Romai McMorrow 087 1179653. Registrations now open. ADVERTISEMENT Killenummery Community Centre Killenummery Community Centre this month Mondays. Line dancing with Gary 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., male female new session starting May 19 Great fun. Second Monday Men's Shed 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. second Tuesday Killenummery Women's Group 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday midday new six-week chair exercise started May 7. Lots of chairs and space. With Sue. A great exercise class. Wednesday seven 30 to nine 30 bowls club. Male and female Thursday QQI level four gardening class. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday KWG presents a new six-week Block of chair yoga starts 15th with Grainne Adventure Gently. 5.30 to 6.30. Open to community. Last Friday in month Servers club Clothes recycling bank at centre Also R RETURN bin (orange) at centre. For just the R recycling bottles and cans. If you are out walking and find some discarded do drop them in. Helps with our fundraising and environment. Info on any of the above contact Thelma at 086 6017835. Join Killenummery Men's Shed as they host a special event in celebration of Men's Health Week 2025, running from June 9 to June 16. The gathering will take place at the shed on Monday, June 9, at 8 p.m. Enjoy light refreshments while attending an insightful talk by Caroline McCafferty, Psychotherapist (MBACP). All are welcome – come along for an evening of learning and connection. Ballintogher Enterprise Centre Music Classes in Ballintogher Enterprise Centre (F91 C2 HT) on Monday evenings. From 5.30 p.m. – Whistle/Flute/Concertina and Fiddle. Online booking or Contact 087 6645509. Speech and Drama Classes on Fridays – from age four years upwards. Irish Conversation Class for Beginners/Improvers in Ballintogher Enterprise Centre – F91 C2 HT Thursday evening. commencing shortly. Supported by ETB. To register, please contact – 087 6645509 by return or email ballintogherhub@ Counselling – Low cost, confidential, community based counselling with Caroline McCafferty MBACP. CLMcounselling@ 087 4869755. Classes for 2025 in the Depot Jewellery Making coming soon to the Depot, part funded by MSLETB Limited spaces will be available, so to book your place and for more information contact the Depot Office at 071 9134986 or 085 8017943 Mon-Thursday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bike Maintenance Workshops – Come along to our Bike Maintenance Workshops, part funded by MSLETB, starting shortly in the Depot. The course will provide you with the skills to care and maintain your bicycle. To register your interest contact the Depot Office Mon-Thursday 10 a.m.-1 at 071 9143986 or 085 8017943 or Living With Dogs Talks by Tina – Are you having trouble with your furry friend? We are hosting a serious of short talks on the trials and tribulations of dog ownership with some tips and tricks in managing our delightful fur balls. For more information and to book your place contact the Depot Office 071 9134986 or 085 8017943 or email Pilates with Rory, parent and Toddler 11 a.m. North Leitrim Dance Class. Fab Fitness with Sue Pilates with Sue. Yoga with Amy. Knit Group, yoga with Gráinne, Karate. For further information on any of the activities contact the Depot office, open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday to Thursday. Contact us at 071 9134986 or 085 8017943. Notes Items for local notes to before 12 noon on Thursday please. ENNISCRONE-KILGLASS Notes Send your news and pictures to the West Sligo Family Resource Centre before midday on Friday or call 096 37444 or email enniscronetourism3@ West Sligo Family Resource Centre We are delighted to be supporting this new project, 'Where do we all belong?' Follow along on Instagram @wheredoweallbelong to see the lads travelling around Sligo, capturing people's stories. 'Where do we all belong?' is a socially engaged visual art project addressing loneliness in Co. Sligo. Dance Fun Dance classes with Carmel on Fridays 11 – midday will be on in June (6, 12, 20 and 27) before breaking up for the summer, Adult Art classes with Tracey (no teen art for June) 2 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. on in June as well before breaking for the summer... they (adult art and teen art classes) will be back in September... also wellness classes will be on in June before breaking for the summer. Sound bath on Thursday, June 12, breathwork on Thursday, June 26, and Shamanic Drum on Monday, June 7.30 p.m. start... also we have Suzie back with her very creative craft workshop on Monday, June 16, 12.30 p.m. to 3 p.m., please email events@ Enniscrone-Kilglass Community Games Congratulations to our under-11 tag rugby team who won their match, securing their place in the semifinal. Well done to both teams for a great game, and thanks to all the coaches involved. Condolences Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the late TJ Cawley St Farnan's Drive, Dromore West, Co. Sligo peacefully, at his residence surrounded by his loving family. Predeceased by his parents Paddy and beloved husband of Tjietra and loving father of Ciarán and Tristan. Sadly, missed by his wife, sons, brothers Pat, Kieran, Seán and Desmond, sisters Mary and Stephanie, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, wider family circle of friends. May He rest in peace. Kilglass Parish Community Centre: Attention Leaving Cert Students. Need a quiet place to study? We're offering free study desks at the Hub perfect for focused revision in a calm environment. You'll get: A quiet space to concentrate. Free Wi-Fi. Complimentary tea and coffee. Spaces are limited and booking is essential. Please use the following booking form: Enniscrone blotto May 25. Blotto jackpot €4,000. No jackpot winner. numbers were: – 17, 29, and 31. €25 winners: Martin Reape. Patrick Gillespie. Séamus Duffy. Ben, Rian and Paidi Byron. Jackpot for the next draw on Sunday, June 1, McNulty's Bar will be €4,200. West Sligo Athletics Club Congratulations to our Mixed Distance Relay competitors who represented Co Sligo at the weekend in the all-Ireland finals. The boys made themselves, their area and county proud, with the under-12 team winning bronze and the under-14 team silver. Well done boys. Congratulations Congratulations to Eoghan Rua Ladies' Football Club, who just won the clubs very first Division 1 League title. Congratulations to all the girls and their dedicated management on their win. Congratulations to our Kilglass Enniscrone United Football Club players on their successful relay team, Sligo at Community Games running all-Irelands today. Under-12 Cohen Reynolds and Brendan O'Meara – bronze. Under-14 Matthew Coen – silver. Enniscrone Beach Clean Up Our annual beach clean-up starts up again on June 1 from 9 a.m. to 9.45 a.m. meeting at the Lifeguard tower, gloves, rubbish pickers and bags will be provided, 01/06, 08/06, 15/06, 22/06, 29/06, 06/07, 13/07, 20/07, 27/07, 03/08, 10/08, 17/08, 24/08, 31/08 all help would be greatly appreciated. Pier Swim The Enniscrone Pier Swim sponsored by Coleman Electronics is back this summer, taking place on Saturday, June 21. With four distances, ranging from 500m to 3km, and a Children's Event, this event tailors to beginners and those more experienced in the water. Kilglass Enniscrone United Football Club KEUFC are delighted to announce that Phase II of our grounds upgrade was completed this week with the installation of our new state-of-the-art LED floodlights. This now means that the club can host evening games going forward and also gives us more capacity to train. The floodlight installation followed Phase I, which was the conversion of the old grass pitch to all Weather astro. The club would sincerely like to thank all the volunteers who helped us with this project, through fundraising, grant applications and lots of other tasks undertaken. A huge thank you to all our sponsors, without whose help we would never get these projects off the ground. Our floodlights were installed by Electric Skyline Ltd and we would like to thank Darren, Fergal, Jason and Dec for their expertise and commitment to doing a top job. Huge thank you to Seán Egan from Seán Egan Electrical, who done all the electrical connections and as always has been a massive help to the club whether carrying out works or advising us on the best approach. Thank you to our engineers OMD Design for their excellent work as always and finally thanks to Bendan Byron for his assistance in the procurement stage of the project. We hope that all our players and community enjoy using our fantastic facilities for many years to come. KEUFC are hosting Sligo Rovers FC summer Camp. August 18 to August 22, boys and Girls 10.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Our club will hold a FAI camp this year at Michael McGowan Park from July 21 to July 25 Boys and Girls 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. FAI Camp can be booked online now.
Agriland
27-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
How many BISS applications were made in your county this year?
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that Cork was again the county with the highest number of applications for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other area-based schemes this year. In total, 123,705 scheme applications were submitted from across the country by the deadline of Wednesday, May 15. This is down from 124,274 scheme applications in 2024. This year's figure includes 2,792 temporary reference number applications which are numbers assigned to allow an application until the herd number application has been completed. BISS The DAFM received 12,181 applications on behalf of farmers in Co. Cork for BISS and other area-based schemes in 2025, which is down from 12,344 in the previous year. Galway was the county with the second-highest number of applications at 11,603, followed by Co. Mayo with 10,942. The county with the lowest number of applications was Dublin with 607, followed by Louth with 1,442 and Carlow with 1,591. The following table provides a county-by-county breakdown for the number of BISS and other area-based scheme applications made to DAFM by May 15: County Total applications Carlow 1,591 Cavan 4,731 Clare 5,893 Cork 12,181 Donegal 8,771 Dublin 607 Galway 11,603 Kerry 7,532 Kildare 2,030 Kilkenny 3,134 Laois 2,723 Leitrim 3,365 Limerick 4,829 Longford 2,325 Louth 1,442 Mayo 10,942 Meath 3,671 Monaghan 4,032 Offaly 2,763 Roscommon 5,480 Sligo 3,819 Tipperary 6,404 Waterford 2,263 Westmeath 2,929 Wexford 3,775 Wicklow 2,078 Temporary reference numbers 2,792 Total 123,705 Source: DAFM Where farmers have made their BISS and other area based schemes application, but now wish to make an amendment, they may make such changes online at until midnight on Saturday (May 31) without any penalty. If a change made to a BISS online application leads to a farmer having insufficient land to use all of their entitlements, they will have the opportunity to submit a transfer of entitlements application up until midnight on May 31, 2025. This is only available to farmers who can show that they have made a change to their BISS application by May 31, 2025 and that change has directly led to the need to transfer entitlements. The department has reminded farmers that scheme applications will be accepted after the May 15 closing date, however a 1% per day penalty will be applied in these instances.
Agriland
26-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Watch: Share farming in practice on Gurteen Farm in Cork
As generational renewal comes increasingly under the spotlight, share farming and other succession pathways were the focus of a recent event held in Co. Cork. The open day hosted by Teagasc, in collaboration with Shinagh Estates and Carbery, took place at Gurteen Dairy Farm, just outside Bandon. The 37ha farm is owned by Shinagh Estates Limited, which is in turn owned by the four west Cork co-ops of Bandon, Barryroe, Drinagh, and Lisavaird. The farm was previously run as a heifer-rearing block for Shinagh Estates dairy farm. In 2015, the farm was converted into a dairy system, in conjunction with Teagasc, with the intention of embarking on a share farming arrangement with a farmer who would provide their own herd of around 100 cows and run the farm for a set term. Kerry Desmond, who grew up in Bandon, is the now the third share farmer working with Shinagh Estates, following on from John Sexton and Padraig Cunnane. The share farming agreement on Gurteen farm essentially sees two separate businesses operate from the one holding with two separate sets of accounts. Under this particular agreement, 60% of the milk cheque goes to Kerry (the share milker) and the remaining 40% to Shinagh Estates (the landowner), after monthly bills are paid. Kerry keeps all of the stock sales and Shinagh Estates keeps 100% of the Basic Income for Sustainability (BISS) payment. Teagasc dairy profit monitor costs for Gurteen farm in 2024, which do not include a cost for Kerry's own labour Under the agreement, which has up a term of up to seven years, Shinagh Estates pays for facilities; soil fertility; reseeding; maintenance; insurance and land rent. The share farmer pays for the vet; artificial insemination (AI); machinery; replacements and labour. Costs such as feed, fertiliser, contracting and parlour chemicals are split on a 60:40 basis. Kerry Desmond share farmer at Gurteen Farm, Shinagh Estates, Bandon, Co. Cork Source: O'Gorman Photography Kerry initially bought 106 in-calf cows in the winter of 2023 from two farms, one in Mayo and the other in Cork, where he used to work. He used a combination of his own savings and bank finance to fund this purchase. In selecting stock, Kerry prioritised economic breeding index (EBI), disease history and somatic cell count (SCC). The current EBI of the herd is €229, placing it in the top 10% in the country. In 2024, total milk solids (MS) sold were 467kg MS/cow at 4.79% fat and 3.88% protein with a milk price of 57c/L. Average SCC in 2024 stood at 128,000. The milk price was 7c above the co-op average, which delivered an extra €35,000. The milk solids were produced with 705kg of ration per cow. The farm has a stocking rate of 2.6 livestock units (LU) per hectare. Dr Padraig French, Teagasc and Gus O'Brien, Shinagh Estates. Source: O'Gorman Photography Kerry carried out 40 grass walks in 2024, 13t of grass was grown with 191kg of nitrogen (N) applied. 60t of lime was spread during the year, which was paid for by Shinagh Estates. The farm struggled for grass until June. 362 bales were made on the farm with another 238 purchased before Christmas, along with a further 134 bales bought in the first two months of 2025. As Kerry anticipated a winter fodder shortage, he decided to plant 2.5ha of Redstart which the open day heard worked well given the conditions. Despite challenges with grass growth and issues with lung worm, 2024 proved to be a very strong financial year for the share farming agreement with a total farm profit of over €171,000. The first round of grazing this year was completed on April 4. By the end of April, 100 units of N had been spread – 80 units in chemical form and the remaining 20 in organic slurry. Kerry emphasised the importance of having good mentors to teach and give confidence to young farmers. Share farming Ruth Fennell, a collaborative farming specialist with Teagasc, told the large crowd at the open day that there are different models which may suit individual farms, including share farming, registered farm partnerships, land leasing and contract rearing. She said that collaborative farming can help to address challenges such as land access issues, labour shortages and rising costs. Such agreements can benefit new entrants, landowners and those stepping back from farming by offering land access, income and gradual transitions. However, she stressed that communication and clear agreements are essential to manage risks and protect everyone's interests. 'It's really a matter of asking yourself what do you want out of the arrangement. A certain amount might be income based, it also might be that you want to be very much involved on the farm and you want someone to work alongside you or you may be in the position that you've got to the stage that you want to step away from it completely. 'If we're looking at the partnership [model] it really needs to be somebody that's coming in with you that you feel you're going to be able to work with going forward. 'There has to be a good working relationship, that you work alongside each other and that both opinions are valued within that partnership arrangement,' she said. Fennell noted that the share farming model would generally be more 'hands off' compared to the farm partnership option, while land leasing is normally completely hands off. When considering what collaborative farming options, Fennell said it is important that the farm generating a sufficient income that can be shared, along with maintaining facilities.
Agriland
26-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Department publishes list of CAP beneficiaries for 2024
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has published the annual list of who benefitted from payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the 2024 programme year. The department is required to publish the information before the end of May in each year following the year in question. The data, published today (Monday, May 26) outlines how much money was received by each beneficiary across all aspects of CAP across Pillar I and Pillar II. The beneficiaries can be legal persons, or an entity, such as a farm that operates with a business name. The data cover the CAP expenditure period of October 16, 2023 to October 15, 2024. Therefore, the publication today is the first such publication that covers an entire year of the current 2023-2027 CAP under Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan, as last year's publication (for 2023) included the last couple of months of 2022, which was part of a 'rolled-over' CAP programme that officially came to an end in 2020. For this reason, there are some differences in how funding is recorded under various measures. For example, in this year's publication, the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) is listed separately to direct payments. In last year's CAP beneficiaries publication, neither BISS, nor its predecessor the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), were listed as separate items. Focusing at first on payments listed under the direct payments measure, the data shows the largest amount of direct payment funding for a single beneficiary was €181,541.42, for 'Reps' of Harry O'Farrell, of Co. Roscommon. This was followed by 'Reps' of Matthew & Alan Ward, of Co. Clare, with €136,829.19. The third highest recipient was 'Reps' of Deirdre Bourns, of Co. Galway, with €113,422.47. The top 10 recipients of direct payments for 2024 are outlined in the table below: Beneficiary County Amount Reps of Harry O'Farrell Roscommon €181,541.42 Reps of Matthew & Alan Ward Clare €136,829.19 Reps of Deirdre Bourns Galway €113,422.47 Reps of James Butler Kilkenny €102,542.88 Alan Carson Mayo €91,325.07 Reps of Michael J Towey Roscommon €89,956.50 Reps of James T Neale Carlow €88,237.81 Curraghdermot Farms Limited Cork €88,010.57 Reps of John & T O'Callaghan Cork €87,123.27 David & Aidan Fennin Kildare €74,766.84 Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Turning to CAP payments listed under the BISS measure, the highest amount paid out was €120,255.98 to Tallon Farm, of Co. Meath. The next highest payment was to a recipient recorded as 'Ghillsdltd Tbrownaodonovan', of Co. Cork, which received €119,865.30. The third highest BISS payment went to Park Farms Partnership in Co. Carlow, which received €115,866.86. The top 10 beneficiaries of BISS for 2024 are outlined in the table below: Beneficiary County Amount Tallon Farm Meath €120,255.98 Ghillsdltd Tbrownaodonovan Cork €119,865.30 Park Farm Partnership Carlow €115,866.86 Gillstown Dairy Partnership Meath €114,564.30 Reps of K & M & B Byrne Kildare €113,589.14 Shanrahan Farms Tipperary €108,920.69 Darmody Brosfarm Partnership Tipperary €101,075.61 Tara Agri Offaly €95,941.59 Power Farm Partnership Kilkenny €92,654.80 Lisbeg Dairies Galway €92,572.89 Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Agriland
19-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
BISS: 123,700 applications received by deadline
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has confirmed that 123,705 farmers applied online for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other area-based schemes before the May 15 deadline. This is a slight decrease on the number of farmers that applied for BISS and related measures in 2024, which was 124,274. Applications will be accepted after the 15 May closing date. However, there will be a 1% per day penalty on payments, as per the terms and conditions of BISS. The area-based application includes a range of schemes apart from BISS, including: Eco Scheme; Complementary Redistribution Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS); Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CIS-YF); Protein Aid Scheme; Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM); Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme; Multi Species Sward Measure (MSSM) and Red Clover Silage Measure (RCSM); Annual claims for Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) and the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS). There were 33,951 applications received to transfer payment entitlements. However, if a change made to a BISS online application leads to a farmer having insufficient land to use all of their entitlements, they will have the opportunity to submit a Transfer of Entitlements application up until midnight on May 31, 2025. This facility is only available to farmers who can show that they have made a change to their BISS application by May 31, and that change has directly led to the need to transfer entitlements. Minister Heydon commented: 'Area-based support schemes are of critical importance to farmers. One of the key milestones is the May 15 deadline and I'm delighted that so many farmers have submitted their forms on time.' The minister added: 'This figure reflects the massive effort made by farmers, FAS Advisors and by my department in assisting farmers with these schemes and their various requirements. 'I want to particularly acknowledge the advisory services again this year, who have worked extremely hard with their client farmers to meet a range of application deadlines in recent months.' The minister said: 'To support farmers, my department held 16 one-to-one clinics around the country. Almost 1,441 farmers were assisted at these events with a further 338 receiving direct help at the public office in Portlaoise. 'The Direct Payments Helpdesk of my department made and received over 10,110 calls to farmers since April 1, to help them with their applications and queries,' he added. 'I want every eligible farmer to maximise their payments because I and everyone in my department knows how crucial they are to farm families,' Minister Heydon said.
