Basic Payment Scheme

The Basic Payment Scheme replaces the Single Payment Scheme in 2015 and a new set of payment entitlements will be allocated to those who are eligible to take part in the scheme.

All entitlements held by farmers under the Single Farm Paymnet expired in the 31st of December in 2014. Under the CAP reform a new set of entitlements will be allocated to farmers under the Basic Payment Scheme if theu apply by submitting an application in 2015 and meet the conditions for eligibility.

Features of the New Scheme

The Basic Payment Scheme will operate in much the same way as the current Single Payment Scheme;

How it is similar:

• An application to be submitted each year in which the farmer declares all of his land specifying which hectares are eligible for payment.
• To draw down payment, a farmer must declare one eligible hectare for each entitlement that he holds.
• All entitlements are subject to a ‘two-year usage’ rule. Any entitlement that remains unused for two consecutive years will revert to the National Reserve.
• Entitlements are not attached to land but are allocated to a person and become the property of that person and from 2016 onwards, entitlements may be transferred either with or without land.
• Direct payments (including Basic Payment, Greening, etc) will not issue to a farmer where the total cumulative amount due in a given scheme year is less than €100.00

How it is Different:

• Entitlements will be subject to convergence which will either increase or decrease their value from year to year. Unlike the Single Payment Scheme therefore, the value of entitlements does not remain static but will change from year to year.
• The maximum payment that will be granted to any one farmer under the Basic Payment Scheme in any one scheme year is capped at €150,000.00. 
• There is no option to consolidate (stack) entitlements under the Basic Payment Scheme. However the process of allocating entitlements in 2015 spreads a farmer’s value across the eligible hectares on which entitlements are allocated. A farmer who is allocated a lower number of Basic Payment Scheme entitlements than he previously held SPS entitlements will effectively have his value consolidated onto his new set of Basic Payment Scheme entitlements.
• There is no ‘rotation’ of entitlements whereby entitlements that were unused in one year would be given priority usage in the following year. In effect this means that if a farmer fails to use 100% of his/her entitlements in at least one year of a two year period, the unused entitlements will revert to the National Reserve.
• In addition to all standard transfers, entitlements may now be transferred by way of lease without land with effect from 2016.

If you need more information

Get in touch with us through our contact form or phone our office on 074 9130772.