Delayed Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) payments to farmers will “commence this week”, the Department of Agriculture has confirmed.
The payments, which are valued at around €600 million and are critical for farmers, were scheduled to start last Friday but were delayed as a result of the industrial action last week across the public sector.
But Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said he has “been working intensively to find a solution to the delays in BISS and CRISS payments and I can now confirm that payments will commence before the weekend”.
“This will minimise the delays farmers have seen and I want to acknowledge the co-operation of the Unions involved in recognising the importance of these payments to farmers throughout the country,” he added.
Farming groups had called for immediate action after the department confirmed the delay in issuing BISS and CRISS payments last week.
Initially, they were expected to be delayed until 27 October but will now start by Friday, 23 October.
