By to-day, over 91 per cent of farms should have received their Single Farm Payment for 2014, according to Agriculture Minister, Michelle O’Neill.

This week, 27,000 payments were issued with the Minister setting a target of 93% of payments to be made in the month of December.

Announcing the beginning of payments Minister O’Neill said:“I am delighted to announce that a record payment performance has been achieved so early in the payment period. Over 27,000 payments have been issued to farmers on Day 1(Monday) and will reach farmers’ bank accounts on Thursday, December 4. After a difficult year for the industry, this will make a real difference to farmers’ cash flows.” The Minister said:“I am particularly pleased that my Department has taken steps to make faster payments, by more than trebling the volume of payments issued on Day 1. In May I announced a target of 93% for the month of December, to include 500 cases subject to inspection via Control with Remote Sensing. I am confident that my Department will achieve this.

“The increase in the number of claims made via DARD’s online system in 2014 has contributed to this record payment performance. I hope that more farmers will now see the benefits of applying online and help us to improve further in the years ahead.

“I would strongly encourage farmers to go online themselves or ask their agent or form filler to complete the claim online on their behalf. It’s a good way to avoid mistakes compared with paper and crucially it will speed up payments to farmers overall. The telephone number in order to obtain the Government Gateway ID and password is (028) 9442 6699 and my staff will be happy to assist farmers or agents who enquire.” Single farm Payments will be paid using the exchange rate of €1= £0.77730.

Farmers will receive a payment letter around the same time as their payment is credited to their bank account detailing how their payment has been calculated.

This year’s Single Farm Payment will be worth around £246million to local farmers when payments are completed. This is less than last year because of the less favourable exchange rate and scaleback of entitlements. The Single Farm Payment is still an important part of farm income.

The regulations require checks on all claims to verify eligibility and to assess the correct amount due before a payment can be made. Many of the cases that cannot be paid immediately, particularly those which had on-farm inspections, have identified land eligibility concerns and changes to farm maps and therefore require investigation and more complex assessments which take time to complete. In some cases a payment cannot be processed because the farmer has to provide bank account details or because probate is awaited.