SIS balancing payments to be paid to sheep farmers next week

Payments to sheep farmers participating in the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) are expected to be paid in the coming days.

While 85% of the payments to farmers were issued to farmers in November 2023, the remaining 15% in payments will be paid next week.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed to Agriland that it “expects” the balancing payment of 15% under year 1 of the scheme to commence the week beginning Monday, June 3, 2024.

However, next week begins with a bank holiday on Monday, and payments to farmers may not be issued until the next working day or throughout the rest of the week.

The 85% advance payments worth €19 million in the SIS were issued to farmers in November 2023.

However, last month it was revealed that there were over 1,400 farmers in the scheme who had yet to receive an advanced payment.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue confirmed that of the 1,433 without advance payments, “some of these will never generate a payment for a variety of reasons, i.e., no sheep census submitted, no BISS [Basic Income Support Scheme] submitted etc.

“Processing of these files including appeals of same is continuing,” he added.

There are currently a total of 18,934 applicants in the Sheep Improvement Scheme. A total of 18,648 of them joined in Year 1 of the scheme with a further 286 new entrants joining the scheme earlier this year.

Sheep Improvement Scheme

In order for farmers to quality for the scheme, they must:

Submit a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application for each year of scheme participation;
Submit a sheep census return for each year during the lifetime of the scheme – an exception is made for new entrants in year of entry;
Have an active herd number – or be a new entrant – and keep breeding ewes;
Maintain the required number of breeding ewes during the scheme.

In order to quality for the €12/ewe payment, farmers must complete two welfare measures.

A list of what measures both lowland and hill flocks can undertake for the scheme are provided in the table below.