Farmers to receive Basic Payment Scheme Refund
Refunds will total more than €13.35 million
Approximately 100,000 farmers are set to receive Basic Payment Scheme Refunds.
The refunds will total more than €13.35 million and will commence today (Monday).
The money was deducted from their 2019 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments under the Financial Discipline rule and is now being reimbursed in line with the EU regulations.
Commenting on the refund, Minister McConalogue said: "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 €1.194 billion."
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 2019 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. 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.