The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has published the beneficiaries of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2022.
EU member states are required to publish a list of beneficiaries of all forms of CAP funding each year.
The department must publish this list by May 31, each year. The data published in the most recent list refers to the period October 16, 2021 to October 15, 2022.
The annual publication, which is available online, includes the name of the beneficiary (which may be an individual person, company or other legal entity); the county or municipality where the beneficiary is resident/located; and the amount of payment for a particular CAP measure.
In a previous article, Agriland outlined the top 10 CAP direct payment recipients in 2022. But which beneficiaries saw the largest direct payments in each county?
Starting with Leinster, the beneficiary with the highest direct payment in 2022 was Country Crest Arable of Co. Dublin, which also received the highest direct payment in the country for the relevant period, of €237,598.88.
The next highest direct payment in Leinster for last year was for O’Shea Farms Unlimited of Co. Kilkenny, which saw a payment of €224,352.41, the second highest figure nationwide.
Following that, Godolphin Ireland UC in Co. Kildare saw direct payments amounting to €222,282.25, which was also the third highest direct payment amount nationwide last year.
Two other Leinster-based beneficiaries saw payments in excess of €200,000, namely Branganstown Farms Limited in Co. Louth (€204,431.70) and Park Farms Partnership in Co. Carlow (€202,561.41).
These two enterprises were respectively the seventh and eighth largest beneficiaries in the country last year.
The top beneficiaries in six other Leinster counties saw payments ranging between €100,000 and €200,000. Only one county in the province – Longford – saw its top beneficiary receive less than €100,000.
County (Leinster) Beneficiary Direct payments 2022 Carlow Park Farms Partnership €202,561.41 Dublin Country Crest Arable Limited €237,598.88 Kildare Godolphin Ireland UC €222,282.25 Kilkenny O’Shea Farms Unlimited €224,352.41 Laois Sean Conroy €137,319.16 Longford Torboy Farms and Robert Payne €93,425.76 Louth Branganstown Farms Limited €204,431.70 Meath Gillstown Dairy Partnership €189,681.74 Offaly Nicky Molloy €139,784.03 Westmeath Ballynegall Feeds Ltd €164,797.21 Wexford Michael Cloney €159,858.01 Wicklow Luggala Estate Ltd €138,878.62
Moving on to Munster, and the beneficiary that saw the largest payment here was Castlecor Potatoes Limited in Co. Cork, which benefited from direct payments totalling €216,557.42. This business saw the fourth highest direct payment nationally in 2022.
The only other Munster county to see its top beneficiary receive direct payments in excess of €200,000 was Tipperary, where Lunarford Farms received €204,800.52.
In all other Munster counties, the top beneficiaries received payments between €100,000 and €200,000.
County (Munster) Beneficiary Direct payments 2022 Clare John O’Loughlin €105,584.44 Cork Castlecor Potatoes Unlimited €216,557.42 Kerry Padraig and James and Con Barry €138,865.51 Limerick Heathfield Dairy Farms Ltd €126,964.83 Tipperary Lunarford Limited €204,800.52 Waterford John and Peter Queally €191,373.71
Turning to Connacht, and the top direct payment beneficiary in the province was Hans Weirner Meis in Co. Galway, with direct payments totalling €189,172.18.
In Co. Leitrim, Padraig McGuinness received direct payments in the amount of €125,341.04 for 2022.
One other Connacht county saw their top direct payment beneficiary receive over €100,000, while in two counties, the top beneficiaries received between €90,000 and €100,000.
County (Connacht) Beneficiary Direct payments 2022 Galway Hans Weirner Meis €189,172.18 Leitrim Padraig McGuinness €125,341.04 Mayo Reps. of Michael Chambers €105,826.06 Roscommon Hilltop Dairies Ltd €97,917.26 Sligo Michael Barrett €93,105.76
Finally, turning to Ulster, and the top beneficiary of direct payments here was Seamus Thomas of Co. Donegal, who received €125,725.39 in 2022.
One other county in the province saw its top beneficiary receive direct payments in excess of €100,000.
Across the six counties of Northern Ireland, the top beneficiary of direct payments under the auspices of Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was K Robinson Livestock Ltd. which received €32,864.10 in 2022.
County (Ulster/Northern Ireland) Beneficiary Direct payments 2022 Cavan Edward Brady €110,387.25 Donegal Seamus Thomas €125,725.39 Monaghan Thomas, Mark and James Wilson €76,022.99 Northern Ireland K Robinson Livestock Ltd €32,864.10