19-05-2025
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.
