Tony Killeen T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has confirmed that payments under REPS 4 have commenced and that over EUR33 million has issued to farmers in the last week or so.
The payments represent the first of the two phasing arrangements under which REPS 4 payments are made under EU regulations. The Regulations allow 75 per cent of payments to be released once all detailed administrative checks on all applications, including plan checks, are completed.
Minister of State Killeen described the processing of REPS 4 claims as an enormous and complex task. He continued: “In order to meet the requirements of the EU regulations, all applications received this year, as well as those received in 2007 and 2008, have to be subjected to detailed administrative checks before any payments could issue at all. This involved checks on some 28,800 files and I am glad that we have managed to reach the stage where payments are now being made in such large numbers. Payments will continue so that as many farmers as possible will receive their entitlements before year-end or early in the New Year."
Meanwhile, the second phase of the REPS 4 payments for 2009, the 25%, has also commenced. This phase was triggered by the completion of the programme of on-farm inspections for the year.
Minister of State Killeen noted that there were also approximately 34,000 farmers still in REPS 3 who had been paid or would receive payments this year. The Clare Fianna Fail T.D. continued: "These payments have been going out continuously since January and as of today the Department has already paid out EUR220 million this year. These payments, too, will continue to issue right up to the last day of the year".
Minister of State Killeen said that REPS payments due to farmers in 2009 would reach the highest levels ever and this trend would continue next year. In the case of the Farm Waste Management Scheme, expenditure by the Department this year will reach EUR293 million which will bring total expenditure under the Scheme since its introduction in 2001 to over EUR900 million.
The payments represent the first of the two phasing arrangements under which REPS 4 payments are made under EU regulations. The Regulations allow 75 per cent of payments to be released once all detailed administrative checks on all applications, including plan checks, are completed.
Minister of State Killeen described the processing of REPS 4 claims as an enormous and complex task. He continued: “In order to meet the requirements of the EU regulations, all applications received this year, as well as those received in 2007 and 2008, have to be subjected to detailed administrative checks before any payments could issue at all. This involved checks on some 28,800 files and I am glad that we have managed to reach the stage where payments are now being made in such large numbers. Payments will continue so that as many farmers as possible will receive their entitlements before year-end or early in the New Year."
Meanwhile, the second phase of the REPS 4 payments for 2009, the 25%, has also commenced. This phase was triggered by the completion of the programme of on-farm inspections for the year.
Minister of State Killeen noted that there were also approximately 34,000 farmers still in REPS 3 who had been paid or would receive payments this year. The Clare Fianna Fail T.D. continued: "These payments have been going out continuously since January and as of today the Department has already paid out EUR220 million this year. These payments, too, will continue to issue right up to the last day of the year".
Minister of State Killeen said that REPS payments due to farmers in 2009 would reach the highest levels ever and this trend would continue next year. In the case of the Farm Waste Management Scheme, expenditure by the Department this year will reach EUR293 million which will bring total expenditure under the Scheme since its introduction in 2001 to over EUR900 million.
