The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) recently confirmed that farmers can now apply for the 2026 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS).

According to the department, the BISS is "designed to provide a direct income support to Irish farmers to underpin their continued sustainability and viability".

Support for active farmers is based on the size of a holding (the number of eligible hectares) and the number and value of entitlements held.

The application process also covers the Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS), Eco-Schemes and other related schemes.

DAFM noted that farmers can apply for all elements of direct payments, including BISS, Eco-Schemes, Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers, Protein Aid, National Reserve, transferring of entitlements, online now.

DAFM

The department has published the following key dates for farmers to be aware of in 2026:

May 15 (midnight), 2026:

Deadline for BISS and related area-based schemes 2026 application;
Deadline for BISS 2026 entitlement related applications, including the online 2026 transfer of entitlements application and the online application for National Reserve.

May 31 (midnight), 2026:

Deadline for amending a BISS application area declared without receiving a penalty;
Land used to claim BISS in 2026 has to be “at your disposal” from the beginning of the year until after May 31, 2026 or from before May 31, 2026 to December 31, 2026 for BISS.

June 9 (midnight), 2026:

Late application BISS deadline.

June 12 (midnight), 2026:

Final possible date for notification of preliminary check.

June 22 (midnight), 2026:

Final date for preliminary check response.

September 16, 2026:

Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) advance payments commence.

October 16, 2026:

BISS advance payments commence.

October 23, 2026:

Eco-scheme advance payments commence.

December 1, 2026:

Balancing payments commence.

December 31, 2026:

Official end of the BISS 2026 scheme year.