CAP inspection cases need prioritised

Following the recent good news that 90% of advance CAP payments have been paid, Ulster Farmers' Union president Barclay Bell has said that DAERA must now prioritise processing inspection cases to help ease cash flow difficulties on farms which are still awaiting payments.

“The combined effort between farmers and DAERA which enabled the successful advance payment of 90% of applications should be acknowledged. Northern Ireland is the first region in the UK to process advance payments and the increasing number of farmers using the online application facility this year has certainly been a crucial element in helping DAERA achieve this,” said Mr Bell.

However, despite the success of issuing advance payments, there are a considerable number of farmers who were selected for inspection this year making them not eligible for the advance payment.

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“The inspection process can generate a lot of stress and given that many of our family farms are dealing with cash flow difficulties it is now crucial that DAERA’s attention switches to prioritising these inspection cases. This will help DAERA to ensure that when the next payment window opens in December payments can be issued without delay,” said Mr Bell.