The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that 124,274 farmers applied online for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other area-based schemes.
The deadline for farmers or their advisors to submit applications for these schemes in 2024 fell on Wednesday (May 15).
Around 120,000 farmers made applications for BISS which replaces the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
A similar number of farmers applied for Complementary Redistribution Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS), which is designed to redistribute CAP funds from larger farms to medium and smaller sized farms.
Schemes
The department said that it received 120,461 applications from farmers wanting to participate in the Eco Scheme in 2024.
There were some 116,892 applications made for the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC).
Farmers made applications under the Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CIS-YF), Protein Aid, Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM), Multi Species Sward Measure (MSSM) and Red Clover Silage Measure (RCSM).
Annual claims for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) and the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) were also submitted.
The figures include 2,437 Temporary Reference Number applications, applications where no BISS entitlements are held and applications without any claimed area.
The department noted that these applications will be subject to administrative checks to determine eligibility.
It added that the scheme application numbers are subject to change as processing of entitlement trades are completed in the coming months.
Separately, there were 13,155 applications submitted for the CSP Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme before the May 15 deadline.
The new scheme is one of the measures in the ten-point action plan on supporting dairy calf to beef systems in Ireland.
DAFM
In recent months, almost 1,400 farmers attended 17 in-person clinics organised by DAFM across the country to support them in lodging their scheme applications.
A further 365 farmers were offered direct help at the department’s public office in Portlaoise.
The DAFM Direct Payments Helpdesk made and received over 10,000 calls to farmers since April 2 to help them with their applications and queries.
The department advised 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.
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 www.agfood.ie until midnight on Friday, May 31, without any penalty.
Entitlements
Meanwhile, the department also confirmed that there were 33,342 applications received to transfer payment entitlements by the closing date of May 15.
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, 2024.
DAFM said that this is only available to farmers who can show that they have made a change to their BISS application by May 31, 2024 and that change has directly led to the need to transfer entitlements.