THE Department of Agriculture has had to reissue over £1.6 million worth of cheques to hard-pressed farmers. Almost 3,000 cheques were lost or damaged last year. Some farmers simply forgot to cash them.
One farmer complained to the Department that his dogs had eaten his much-needed Euromoney. Another reported that a cheque had been mangled by a tractor. Several claimed that cheques had disappeared in the wash.
Some farmers may have been more concerned about the tax deadline than the six-month bank deadline. Others apparently did not need the money at the time the cheques were issued.
Elderly bachelor farmers living alone are the most likely offenders, according to the Irish Farmers' Association.
Many farmers, unfamiliar with banking, tend to hold on to cheques until they need money. The period of six months from date of issue within which cheques remain valid is often exceeded in such instances.
Relatives of deceased farmers are accustomed to searching beds and other hiding places for uncashed cheques, but it often takes months for missing money to turn up.
Mr Dermot Leavy, chairman of the IFA's rural development committee, emphasised that the £1.6 million represented a tiny proportion of the £700 million received by the State's 150,000 farmers in direct payments.
"The two most common reasons for cheques not getting cashed are elderly farmers dying and cases where the Department claims to have sent the cheque and where the farmer claims not to have received it", he said.