Irish farmers are upset that they are to receive their new EU single payment for 2005 at the end of that year.
The chairman of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association's beef and cattle committee, Mr John O'Leary, claimed yesterday that a single payment arriving after December 1st, 2005, was "too late in the year".
The payment will incorporate all the individual payments which farmers have been receiving up to now.
Mr O'Leary said a single payment would create serious cashflow problems for farmers if the system was not changed. "Under the existing system of direct payments, farmers received the bulk of their direct payment in October but also received significant sums at other times of the year.
"For example, the extensification payment is received in June. Based on this payment pattern, farmers organised loan repayments at appropriate times of the year and the payments were a very significant part of cash flow at various times in the year.
"However, with decoupling and the introduction of the Single Farm Payment in 2005, all the payments will not be made until after December 1st."
He said that this had serious cashflow implications for many farmers because, in many cases, direct payments represented 100 per cent of their annual income.
"The timing of this payment is absolutely crucial," he said.
He added that the ICMSA was requesting that the single payment be brought forward to October each year, as is the current situation. He was joined in his request by MEP Seán Ó Neachtain.
He said a pre-payment under the farm payment scheme, which is due to come into operation in January 2005, would facilitate farmers.
"I am, therefore, proposing that the Minister for Agriculture would take on board my idea of a pre-payment of 50 per cent of entitlements prior to December 2005," he said.
A Department of Agriculture spokesman said the timing of payments was always a matter for the European Commission. "However, for many years we have been able to arrange for payments to be made in advance and in one recent year, we arranged advance payments of 80 per cent in October because of poor weather conditions.
"However, we cannot pay out money without inspections being carried out, but we have been successful in the past in getting the commission to allow early payments.
"Farmers can rest assured that we will pay them as early as possible under the new system as we have in the past," he said.