THE Minister fir Agriculture has announced that up to 5,000 farmers will be paid EU headage and premium payments even though they failed to submit their 1995 area aid applications or submitted them late. This will mean average payments of £4,000 per farmer, or a total of around £20 million.
Mr Yates said some farmers did not apply last year because the details of their lands were the same as on their 1994 applications. He said the European Commission had agreed that where the farmers had submitted a 1994 application, and the details remained unchanged in 1995, the former should be accepted as the equivalent of a 1995 application.