“Long overdue" TB income top payments welcomed by ICSA

The ICSA has said that while they welcome the issuing of top-up Income Supplement payments to certain farmers affected by TB breakdowns, the unacceptable delays must never be repeated.

Animal Health and Welfare chair John Barron said the payments are “long overdue".

“It is only right that farmers who were short-changed due to administrative and IT delays are finally receiving the money they are owed. This should not have taken so long. These are farmers who have been under serious financial strain due to TB restrictions, and they have been waiting more than two years to be paid at the correct rate,” he said.

The top-up payments relate to Income Supplement claims made between 1 February 2023 and the end of February 2024. During this time, payments continued to be issued at outdated rates, despite higher rates having been agreed at the TB Forum. The enhanced rates are currently being paid only to farmers who have entered a breakdown since 29 February 2024.

The new rates, agreed over two years ago, introduced increases across all categories of Income Supplement:

Dairy: From €55/month to €100 for the first five months post-calving, and €65 for months six to ten.

Suckler: From €38.09/month to €52 for the first seven months post-calving, and €40 for months eight to twelve.

Other stock: From €25.39/month to €30.

“While it is positive to see this issue finally being resolved, the delay highlights a worrying lack of urgency in delivering on commitments made to farmers. In addition, with inflation continuing to erode the real value of these payments, we believe the time has come for a further full review of these rates.”

Balancing payments to affected farmers are now being issued, and details can be found in the Financial Self-Service (FSS) portal on AgFood under the title 'Financial Working Group Income Supplement Balancing Payment'. The Department has, however, indicated that it will take a number of weeks to process all payments.