Speaking this evening following conclusion of the negotiations between the Department and the main farming organisations on a new Farmers Charter, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney T.D., welcomed the agreement on the Charter and thanked both sides for their positive engagement over the last number of months.

Minister Coveney said that “The Charter is effectively an agreement between both parties on improving the standards and delivery targets for the Department’s schemes and services, including on-farm inspections, and brings clarity to the arrangements around inspections which I am particularly pleased about”. The Minister added that the document sets out in very clear language, the timelines, application, payment and appeals processes and is a very useful reference for farmers.

The new Charter will come into immediate effect and will now be published.  It will remain in place until 2020 coinciding with the lifetime of the current Pillar I and Pillar II schemes.

A Charter Monitoring Committee will be established under an independent chairman to monitor agreed targets and standards. This Committee will be composed of representatives of the farm organisations and staff of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Date Released: 12 June 2015