The Department of Agriculture has paid out £849 million to farmers under the entitlements in 1997 on foot of more than one million applications, writes Sean MacConnell, Agriculture Correspondent. There were 482,000 applications made under the 1997 livestock and arable schemes and payments here amounted to £610 million. Three schemes included the slaughter premium, ewe premium, arable aid, headage, special beef scheme, suckler cow, BSE, and Agrimonetary compensation schemes.
In the area of direct payments under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme and the Early Retirement Scheme last year, there were 36,000 applications and the payout reached £158 million. Farmers are owed nearly £50 million more from last year's payments.