Payment of Grassland Sheep Scheme Welcome but Long Overdue

Thur. Jan. 27th, 2011.
 
KERRY County Councillor and Kerry South General Election Candidate, Brendan Griffin, has welcomed that the Department of Agriculture will begin issuing payment under the Grassland Sheep Scheme to Sheep farmers from next Tuesday.
 
The scheme, which pays €10 per ewe to sheep farmers up to a cap of €2,200, was announced in April of 2010 but to date, no payment has issued to farmers.
 
Councillor Griffin says that this is a much needed payment for farmers, particularly because of the harsh weather conditions of late and a general difficulty accessing credit.
 
“Many farmers contacted me about this matter, some reporting severe cash flow difficulties as a result of having to spend up to twice as much as normal on feed to keep their sheep alive during the cold weather and many cannot get credit from financial institutions.
 
“I contacted the Minister’s Office in December, requesting that action would be taken immediately to ensure no further delay in the payment of hard pressed farmers.
 
“I also contacted Fine Gael Agriculture Spokesperson, Andrew Doyle, requesting that he would ask a Parliamentary Question on the matter.
 
“It is unacceptable that farmers are still awaiting payment of a scheme that was announced last April. I sincerely hope that the payments will now issue as promised and that farmers will have no further unnecessary delay”.
 
For further info please contact Brendan on 087 652 8841
 
Note: The following link will take you the Minister’s Press Release (April 7th 2010), which announced the scheme. Also, correspondence with Minister’s Office follows.
 
 
http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/press/pressreleases/2010/april/title,41149,en.html

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