Friday, February 20, 2009

6,090 Annual Payment Statements To Clare Farmers

Over 6,920 Annual Payment Statements for 2008 will be issued to farmers around County Clare over the next few days, Junior Agriculture Minister Tony Killeen announced today.

Each Statement gives details of all payments made to the individual farmer by the Department during the period 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2008. The total value of the payments recorded on the Statements is EUR2.630 billion. The main elements of expenditure were the Single Payments Scheme- EUR1,293 million, REPS - EUR309 million, Income Support in the Disadvantaged Areas - EUR254 million, On-Farm Investment Grant Aid, including the Farm Waste Management Scheme - EUR412 million and RDP Afforestation EUR103 million.

Minister Killeen noted that the payments recorded on the Statements represent a massive contribution to farm incomes and to investment in the sector. He noted, “The overall payments to Clare farmers in 2008 amounted to EUR117,993,211 with each recipient of funds receiving an average payment of EUR17,051.” “The Payment Statement has proven in previous years to be a very useful document. I would ask farmers throughout the county to retain it for future reference,” he concluded.