Over €13.35 million is being refunded to approximately 100,000 farmers, the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine has announced this afternoon (Friday, June 27th).
The money was deducted from their 2018 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments under the financial discipline rule, and is now being reimbursed in line with the EU regulations.
‘‘I am pleased to confirm that these payments are now being reimbursed to eligible farmers.”
“These payments will bring the total paid to Irish farmers under the 2019 Basic Payment Scheme to over €1.192 billion.”
Crisis fund
In the context of the annual budgetary procedure of the European Union, the financial discipline mechanism, which is implemented by the member states, involves a monetary deduction (1.4% for the 2018 reduction) from some direct payments, thereby, creating a financial crisis reserve for the European Union.
The crisis reserve is intended to provide additional support for the agricultural sector in the case of major crises affecting agricultural production or distribution, the Department explained.
In the event that the crisis reserve is not activated in the financial year, or it is not fully utilised, the unused balance is refunded to farmers in the subsequent financial year.
