DAS payments of €17.5m approved for Galway farmers

GALWAY farmers are set to achieve an injection of over €17 million in Disadvantaged Areas Payments, DAS, announced on Wednesday by the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney at the Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Laois.

The announcement has been broadly welcomed by farm leaders this week although they have asked Minister Coveney to expedite payments to farmers in the ‘delayed’ categories.

On Wednesday, Minister Coveney announced that the DAS payments process had commenced this week, worth €149 million nationally, with 71,500 eligible farmers to receive their money in the coming days.

He said that the September initial payment figure for 2014 of €149 million was up by €27m compared to the first payment of 2013 – last year, just 58,000 farmers received the first payment.

Minister Coveney said that farmers [mostly hill farmers] who had yet to satisfy the average stocking density of 0.15 livestock units per forage hectare, could do so over the coming months.

“While I can confirm that the minimum stocking density requirement has been met for the bulk of applicants, many farmers will only be confirmed as reaching this minimum requirement through the submission of the necessary manual records.

“I would, therefore, urge those who consider that they have satisfied the scheme stocking requirements to submit relevant manual records for noting without delay, thereby facilitating the speedy processing of their applications and allowing their payments to issue,” said Minister Coveney.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.