Computer glitches are causing delays in payments to farmers

Computer glitches are resulting in farmers experiencing inordinate delays in receiving their entitled payments.

The fact that farm payments are now being processed by computer, as directed by EU auditors, it is causing major delays.

This is the view of Galway East TD Paul Connaughton who says that farmers were being unfairly punished.

“We all understand the need to ensure that farm payments are properly processed and that there are proper oversight mechanisms in place, but such oversight must never result in extended delays for farmers.

“I believe that a requirement by EU auditors that payment systems in relation to payments such as AEOS are computerised is resulting in huge delays for a number of farmers.

“In years gone by, if a farm payment was being held up because of a small penalty claim, that could be processed manually and the payment issued.

“However, now that EU auditors are increasingly insisting that all payments must be processed by computer, farmers caught up in this predicament are forced to wait months while computer software systems are put in place so that these payments can be made”, added Deputy Connaughton.

He said that he had received a deputation from Galway farmers who were seething that their payments had been delayed for an inordinate amount of time.

Many informed him that they were still waiting for AEOS payments from 2013. Some have no idea when they will be paid.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.