Commonage eligibility conditions for farm payments 'have not changed' - Heydon
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has said that conditions for commonage eligibility for farm scheme payments "have not changed since the beginning of the new CAP (Common Agricultural Policy)" in 2023.
The minister said this in response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh.
Deputy Conway-Walsh asked the minister “if he is aware of concerns among farmers in Co. Mayo that his department is enforcing changes to commonage eligibility that may result in reductions or suspensions of farm scheme payments; the basis on which such determinations are being made”.
Minister Heydon replied: “Area-based payments from my department are a critical support for Irish farmers.
“A wide range of schemes are operated such as the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) and ACRES.”
“While each scheme has specific eligibility criteria, as set out in the Terms and Conditions for BISS and other area-based schemes, there are certain common conditions relating to land that apply to all area-based schemes.”
Conditions
Heydon said that for land to be eligible for payment “it must be at the farmer's disposal”.
“The land may be owned, leased, rented or there may be alternative contractual agreements in place to allow the land to be declared.
“Evidence of the land being at a farmer’s disposal may be requested in certain circumstances, for example where the land has been declared by two farmers i.e. a dual claim.”
He added: “This applies to all land whether commonage or private lands.
“In the case of lands farmed in common, multiple farmers may declare the same land, but they must be able to support the area they have claimed by the provision of the evidence of the right to declare the lands.”
The minister said that his department “will request evidence from claimants to prove that the land is at their disposal”.
He added: “In certain cases where there is a dispute regarding title to the lands, for example where lands are unregistered in Land Registry, claimants may be required to have the matter of title resolved before any payments can be made on the lands.
“Along with the requirement to prove that land is at the disposal of the applicant, they must also prove that they are carrying out an agricultural activity on these lands.
“For any lands to be paid on, they must meet both conditions; disposal and agricultural activity.”
The minister added: “These conditions have not changed since the beginning of the new CAP, which commenced in 2023 and have been in place for previous CAP programmes as well.”
BISS clinics and payments
Recently, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) announced a series of in-person farmer clinics.
These are to assist farmers in making their applications online for BISS and other area-based schemes.
Speaking on the clinics, Minister Heydon said: “These clinics have been exceptionally popular in recent years and offer an opportunity for farmers to engage directly with officials from my department.
"We have excellent advisers to support farmers in making their BISS applications, but where farmers are not in a position to engage an adviser, the clinics are an excellent means of ensuring that the BISS application is submitted correctly and on-time.”
Separately, DAFM confirmed that over €5.6 million was paid out to farmers under various schemes last week.
The latest data shows that just over €900,000 was paid out under BISS and the Complimentary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) schemes.
The department said that 118,526 farmers have now received a total of €840.6 million under these measures.
This figure includes the 2025 Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers of €36.4 million and the 2025 National Reserve of €2.9 million.
