Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
Minister MLA has announced Direct
Payments to Northern Ireland farmers have commenced from 2
September, with almost £260million being issued on the first day.
Minister Muir said: "I am delighted to announce
£258.4million of Direct Payments have issued to 23,254
farmers, representing 98% of eligible applicants, on the first
day of 2024 payments.
“I am committed to ensuring both the environmental and economic
sustainability of Northern Ireland's significant agriculture
sector, and my department continues to deliver for hard working
farming families. These payments represent a significant boost to
those families and to rural communities."
Payments will continue to be released following successful
validation checks for the small number of remaining applications.
Farm Businesses are reminded that, to ensure prompt payment they
should check that both their contact, and bank details are up to
date.
Notification of payment details will be made through the DAERA
Messaging Service. This service is a secure, fast and
convenient way to view and respond to scheme correspondence.
DAERA will prompt farm businesses, by issuing an email to the
scheme applicant, when a new message is available to view.
Paper letters will issue to farm businesses where an agent
submitted the application.
To access DAERA messaging for current and future communications,
all farm business members must register for a DAERA Online
Account by registering first for NI Direct. This can be completed via
the DAERA website. This is an easy process that can be done
conveniently at home. Assistance with registration is
available from DAERA by calling 0300 200 7840.
Notes to editors:
- The 2024 total ceiling for direct payments has been confirmed
as £293,527,012 (prior to deductions for capping being applied)
and is equivalent to the ceiling for 2023. This is used to
calculate BPS entitlement values, the Young Farmer Payment, the
Protein Crop Scheme and the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme for the
2024 scheme year.
- On 2 September payments to applicants of the Protein Crops
Scheme will also issue, totaling £0.26M.
- Beef Carbon Reduction payments for the 2024 scheme year will
issue separately, in March 2025.
