Kerry farmers to receive €33m in EU subsidies over the next year

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

Kerry farmers have received the first tranche of an EU subsidy scheme today, providing vital income support for the county’s farmers.

Under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and the Complimentary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) schemes, Kerry farmers will receive a total of €33m over the next year.

A south Kerry farmer described the subsidies as “wages” and said farmers “wouldn’t survive without them”.

The BISS subsidy is the main EU support for Irish farmers, replacing the Basic Payment Scheme in 2023.

TD Michael Cahill welcomed the payments, emphasising their importance to Kerry’s agricultural industry.

“This is a major boost for Kerry’s farm families and our rural economy, providing vital income support and helping to sustain family farms right across the county,” he said.

“At a time of rising costs and market uncertainty, timely payments like these are crucial.”

Kerry has just over 6,800 farmers, with average payment per farmer under the schemes amounting to €4,846. Waterford has the highest average payment per farmer at €6,752 while Monaghan received the lowest at €3,336.

Kerry councillor Johnny Healy-Rae welcomed the payment as “massively important” for farmers but regretted that the system for subsidies had become so complicated.

Changes were introduced to the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) in 2023 which in practice meant Irish farmers had more funding streams to apply to and more paperwork to complete.

Cllr Healy-Rae said: “Its very welcome money at a very important time of the year”.

“However, famers have to jump through more hoops to get the same money so that’s the part I don’t like about all these schemes.”

Many farmers hire companies to apply for subsidies on their behalf, with one Kerry farmer reporting paying nearly €1,000 for the work.

He said “you’d need a degree” to understand the 50 or so farming grants and schemes available to Irish farmers.

While over 93 per cent of the payment had been already delivered to farmers according to the government, above their required 90 per cent in the Farmers’ Charter, Cllr Healy-Rae expressed concerns about the process.

For example, there was major delays in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) payments over the last few years, with some 200 farmers, as of August this year, still waiting on their payment for 2023.

Regarding the BISS payment, Cllr Healy-Rae said: “There’s about 15 to 20 per cent that are held up every year for different reasons”.

“The department can be slow to deal with the problems, and they can go into the new year. That’s one of the few areas they could make an improvement with these payments.”

Nationally, over €510m will be distributed to 111,499 farmers through the BISS and CRISS schemes, with County Cork receiving the highest pay-out of over €60m.

Announcing the commencement of payments, Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, said: "These payments are a critical element of family farm income and also make a significant contribution to the wider rural economy.”

"Given the importance of scheme payments to farmers, I want to ensure that these payments continue to issue in the most efficient way possible so that these vital supports are delivered to farmers in a timely manner.”