‘Its an ordeal for farmers’ – Kilkenny TD hits out at farm payments ‘red tape’

KILKENNY TD Bobby Aylward today said the Farm Assist Scheme application process must be simplified.

And Deputy Aylward has called on the Minister for Social Protection, Regina Doherty, to review Farm Assist Scheme forms to ensure farmers are not bogged down by red tape when applying for the payment.

The Fianna Fáil TD said: “I am regularly contacted by members of the farming community who are fed up by the bureaucracy associated with filling out farm assist applications. No one is arguing about the need for the process, but they are certainly questioning the convoluted nature of it.

“The Farm Assist Scheme was established by Fianna Fáil to provide a valuable payment for low income farmers. While the last Fine Gael led government introduced drastic cuts to the scheme in 2012, Fianna Fáil have managed, under the Confidence and Supply arrangement, to reverse these cuts.”

Deputy Aylward said many farmers depend on the scheme, but they are exasperated by the “slow and complex nature of the application”.

The Kilkenny TD added: “It’s an ordeal for farmers. The Minister must instruct her Department to review this form to ensure the farm assist application is a swift and simple process for those in the farming community.”