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From:Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has today announced payments under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme have commenced issuing to farmers.

Commenting on the announcement Minister Heydon said:

“I am pleased to announce that advance payments totalling €179 million have issued to over 85,000 farmers under the ANC scheme. The payments are an 85% advance payment with the remaining 15% balance due to commence in early December.”

The Minister further commented:

“The ANC scheme is crucial to farm families and these payments are a timely and significant financial boost for farmers and for the wider rural economy. The issuing of the 85% advance ANC payments in mid-September highlights our commitment to maximise payments to farmers at the earliest possible opportunity.”

“Payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days, and my department will continue to process, as a matter of urgency, all remaining cases for payment as they meet scheme criteria.”

The Minister also confirmed that his Department is on track to facilitate payment of the 75% advance under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), Complementary Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) and Eco-scheme from 16 October 2026.

In line with last year’s arrangement, the payments currently issuing are an 85% advance payment on the ANC Scheme. The 15% of balancing payments are due to commence in early December.

In line with previous years, not all applications are currently cleared for payment under the ANC Scheme. Regular pay runs will continue in the coming weeks to ensure cleared cases are processed for payment as quickly as possible. Farmers should submit any outstanding evidence in support of their application to the Department’s Portlaoise Office as soon as possible to facilitate the early release of payments.

Contact: Direct Payments Helpdesk 057-8674422.

Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie.

Staff from the ANC Section will also be available at the National Ploughing Championships to answer any queries.