Latest news with #BasicIncomeSupportforSustainability
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
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.
Agriland
15-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Final day to apply for BISS as applications exceed 118,000
Today (Thursday, May 15) is the final day on which to apply for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and related schemes under pillar I of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, over 118,000 applications have now been received, ahead of the deadline at midnight tonight. A spokesperson for the department told Agriland that, as of yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, May 14), 118,061 applications have been received for BISS and other area-based schemes. On Wednesday of last week (May 7), the department said that 93,478 applications had been made up to that point. Applications seem to be following the same trend that is usually seen with BISS applications, with weekly application figures increasing notably as the deadline approaches. BISS opened for applications on February 11. By April 23, the application figure was just shy of 64,000. Over the next two weeks to Wednesday of last week, some 30,000 more applications had been made, and in the last week alone, around 25,000 further applications have been made. Last year, 124,274 BISS and other area-based scheme applications were submitted to the department from across the country by the deadline. It is expected that applications will continue to be received by the department throughout today right up to the deadline. The BISS deadline is also the deadline for the related submission of applications for other schemes including the Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CISYF), eco-scheme, Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme, and transfers of entitlements. Farmers who are seeking support with their applications can contact the department's Direct Payments Helpdesk on 057-8674422. The department had previously said that the phone line will be open for extended opening hours right up to midnight tonight. Farmers must apply for BISS and other area-based payments using the department's online facility They must log onto and click on the BISS/area-based schemes link to start their applications. Alternatively, farmers can contact a Farm Advisory System (FAS)-approved advisor to make the application on their behalf.
Agriland
14-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Heydon: GAEC 2 concerns ‘are misplaced for a variety of reasons'
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, told the Dáil today (Wednesday, May 14) that the concerns farmers have shared around Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions 2 (GAEC) are 'misplaced for a variety of reasons'. Minister Heydon said for 'the vast majority of farmers' GAEC 2 will have no impact on their day-to-day operations. He also detailed that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has written to all farmers who have at least one parcel identified as GAEC 2 and supplied a map and further information on requirements. Minister Heydon confirmed that the only people who will know if land is subject to GAEC 2 is the 'farmer and the Department of Agriculture. The map is not published anywhere'. The minister again outlined to the Dáil that GAEC 2 is 'a mandatory condition for the payment of Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS)' and that EU regulations require all member states to have a standard in place from the start of this year. He said Ireland had taken the 'maximum flexibility' allowed to delay the introduction of the standard until 2025. Minister Heydon told TDs: 'Many other member states introduced it in 2023, when we as a country signed up to this and said we would do it. 'A further deferral for 2025 was sought by Ireland, asking the European Commission for additional time. 'We received a very clear response from the commission that no further deferral would be approved. If I did not introduce this standard in 2025, Ireland would be in serious breach of the EU regulations governing Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strategic plans'. Minister Heydon According to the minister this would have lead to 'significant fines' if Ireland had not followed through on the introduction of GAEC 2. 'I could not let that happen. I could not let a fine come in that would have taken away money that I want to spend on supporting our farmers instead. 'The standard that has been introduced for 2025 provides a baseline protection for carbon-rich soils, while allowing agricultural activity to continue,' he said. Minister Heydon also told the Dáil that even if a land parcel is in GAEC 2 farmers can 'continue to farm as they have always done in the past'. 'In Ireland, our grass-based system already provides considerable protection for such soils and they are also protected by existing national planning provisions, for example on drainage. 'As I said, agricultural activity can continue. For example, ploughing, reseeding and maintenance of existing drains is all still allowed. 'New drainage is also possible in line with the existing national provisions, which have been in place for many years. Therefore, the introduction of this standard is expected to have minimal impact on farmers' day-to-day operations,' he added.
