Ireland-Farmers angry over delays in payments.

IRELAND-FARMERS WAITING FOR PAYMENTS.

Cash-strapped farmers waiting for desperately needed REPS 4 money could lose some or all of their payment because their plans do not meet Department of Agriculture requirements.

Farmers who submitted REPS plans that are deemed ineligible by the Department of Agriculture will be forced to submit new applications and plans by May 15, 2009.

Those farmers will only be paid on their new plan in 2009 but will lose any payment due under the old plan.

For farmers who have been waiting months, this could mean a loss of thousands of euro.

In addition, penalties of between 1pc and 3pc of REPS payments will apply to any plan that must be amended at local office level.

The startling revelations come as tensions between the Department of Agriculture, REPS planners and farmers reach crisis point.

Just 2,350 farmers of the 10,800 who applied to the scheme have been paid so far by the Department.

A further €1.8m, in 526 payments, is scheduled to be paid in the coming days, the Department has confirmed.

When questioned, the Department said obvious errors in plans could be corrected with no impact on payment.

However, problems such as discrepancies between REPS and SFP areas claimed, or incomplete planning of biodiversity options, will result in reductions in payment.

It is not known at this stage how many plans can be adjusted and how many will be deemed ineligible. A Department spokesperson would only say the number of ineligible applications was "not large".

Lack of clarity about the problems with REPS 4 plans submitted has been a major source of aggravation for farmers with mounting financial difficulties.

REPS planners have insisted they are not at fault and that they submitted correct plans.

Computer errors in the Department of Agriculture and the eREPS system have been blamed for some of the problems.

Phosphorus and nitrogen estimates have been calculated incorrectly in the eREPS system.

In addition, the Department’s computer check is not picking up the mandatory environment plan submitted as part of REPS plans.

Some farmers are deemed to have breached the 170kg N/ha limit by the Department computer check even though the planners use figures from a table provided.

Local Department office staff will begin writing to farmers about their applications in the coming week but it may be too late to placate furious farmers.

IFA Rural Development chairman Tom Turley said the situation, where problems with plans submitted in late 2007 were only being identified in early 2009, was ridiculous and unacceptable.

Mr Turley also warned that if planners were at fault, they would have to pay.

- Caitriona Murphy