IFA President John Bryan has welcomed the payment by the Department of
Agriculture this week of the interest due to farmers whose Farm Waste
Management payments were held up over the past two years.

Mr Bryan said, “With the interest now been paid to the 17,400 farmers
affected, this brings to a conclusion the delayed payment system which
farmers were forced to endure since early 2009. Farmers had to bear the cost
of the 40/40/20 staged grant payout and it only right and proper that the
interest rate was covered.”

He said the final payout in Dec/Jan of the final 20%, and now the interest
payment worth €12m, will help resolve financial difficulties on farms which
resulted from the Government decision in March 2009 to delay payments.