A LOCAL councillor has called on the Dept. of Agriculture to put a provisional arrangement in place for a number of farmers who still haven’t received ANC or Single Farm Payments as the end of the year approaches.

Gort Fianna Fáil councillor, Gerry Finnerty, said that he had received representations from a lot of farmers over recent weeks, many of them who were involved in commonages.

He said that a particular issue seemed to have arisen in  relation to ‘proof of ownership’ where such farmers had commonage lands – even though they had supplied such information as far back as last July.

“At the very least, these farmers should have 50% of their payments released pending the Dept. of Agriculture resolving any technical or paperwork issues relating to these monies.

“I have been in contact with the Dept. of Agriculture to try and resolve issues with these payments which has left farmers in a chaotic financial situation.

“It’s coming to the end of the year when farmers are trying to balance the books but without those vital payments being made they are being left in a desperate situation,” Cllr. Finnerty told the Farming Tribune.

He added that farmers had often pencilled in the end of the year for loan repayments or ‘fixing up’ with contractors or suppliers but they were now left in a financial ‘no man’s land’.

Cllr. Finnerty said that he had also enlisted the help of a number of politicians to try and clear the payments jam with a view to at least putting in place an interim system to get some badly needed monies into farmers’ accounts.

“I call on the Department to immediately release at least 50% of all outstanding payments to farmers who find themselves in this very difficult situation.

“As we come to the end of the calendar year, the fact that these payments are not being made, will also have tax implications for those farmers who find themselves caught up in this predicament which is not of their own making,” he added.

Cllr. Finnerty also hit out at ‘many of our senior politicians who are not in touch with people on the ground’ with crucial financial issues like these not being taken seriously.

“This is a very stressful situation for the farmers affected and I am calling on the Minister for Agriculture and his Department to get this issue sorted out this week,” he added.

Pictured: Cllr. Gerry Finnerty: Payment delays are a concern.