elays in processing farm payments by the Department of Agriculture are causing serious problems for farmers and are affecting many working in rural Mayo.
Over the weekend IFA President John Bryan informed the Government of the extreme anger among thousands of farmers who have had their payments delayed because of processing problems and errors in communications to farmers.
Mr Bryan explained that direct payments were a critical part of farm incomes and cashflow, and no other sector of society would tolerate being left without payments when they are due.
The IFA president said Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith must move immediately to reassure farmers and pay everybody due Disadvantaged Areas payments, and to confirm to all farmers that they will receive 50 per cent of their Single Farm Payment when due in mid-October.
He said the Minister, Brendan Smith, must move to allay these concerns and make the payments due to farmers now, as it is inexcusable to penalise hard-pressed farm families with any further delays.
