17 February 2009

EC Slams Farm Grant Queues

It has emerged that a Stormont department may have broken European Commission rules in the method used to distribute limited grant aid to farmers.

The Department of Agriculture (DARD) could now be forced to scrap its decision to allocate new farming grants on a first come, first served basis. The news comes after a spokesman for the Agriculture Commissioner, Michael Mann, told the BBC's Talkback programme that department's methods were "unacceptable" and broke EC rules.

"A first come, first served basis is not an acceptable way of doing this," Mr Mann said earlier today.

However, it's far too late for the hundreds of farmers who queued overnight to get grant application forms.

Mr Mann said the commissioner's office had written to DARD to explain that the first-come first-served procedure was unacceptable.

It's cold comfort for the NI farmers who had been lining up overnight at Department of Agriculture regional offices in a bid to be beneficiaries of the European grant scheme.

Many will have lined-up for nothing too, as while thousands hoped to get money from the EU Rural Development Programme - designed to help improve animal welfare and farm efficiency - there's only £6 million on offer.

Many farmers are therefore set to lose out as the funding package will allow only around 1,200 farmers to benefit from the maximum grant award, and will leave many farming families with nothing.

The NI Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew, who announced her intention to open the Farm Modernisation Programme last month with funding of £15.25 million, said this morning there was no easy way to make the distribution fair and equal. She did however say that the process would be reviewed prior to the next round being opened.

(BMcC/JM)