Minister McConalogue announces the highest ever level of advance payments under the areas of Natural Constraints Scheme at €184m
- Published on: 18 September 2024
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D., today announced that payments to farmers under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme have commenced.
The Minister commented:
“I am delighted to announce that advance payments totaling over €184 million have issued to 87,149 farmers under the ANC scheme. This is the highest level of advance payments to the most farmers ever achieved for the ANC. Also I am very pleased that, as I committed, the ANC payment date in 2024 is fully in line with dates agreed with the Farmers’ Charter earlier this year.”
The Minister further commented:
“The ANC scheme is crucial to farm families and I know the importance of getting payments out to applicants as quickly as possible. The issuing of these payments in mid-September highlights our commitment to make payments to farmers at the earliest possible time.”
The Minister continued by saying:
“Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days and my department will continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria.”
The Minister also confirmed that his Department is on track to facilitate payment of the advance of 70% under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), Complementary Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) from 16 October 2024 and payments under the Eco-scheme from 21 October 2024.
ENDS
Notes to Editor
In line with last year’s arrangement, the payments currently issuing are an 85% advance payment on the ANC Scheme. The 15% of balancing payments are due to commence in early December.
In line with previous years, not all applications are currently cleared for payment under the ANC Scheme. Regular pay runs will continue in the coming weeks to ensure cleared cases are processed for payment as quickly as possible. Farmers should submit any outstanding evidence in support of their application to the Department’s Portlaoise Office as soon as possible to facilitate the early release of payments.
Contact:
Direct Payments Helpdesk 057-8674422.
Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie.
Staff from the ANC Section will also be available at the National Ploughing Championships to answer any queries.