Farmers must be given the option to be paid by sheep factories electronically, say the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The IFA claim than lamb processing factories should be providing this facility following a clear demand from farmers to have electronic payments.
Sean Dennehy, IFA Sheep Committee chair said: “We are seeing more and more rural services taken away. The closure of local bank branches in towns throughout the country is making it more difficult for farmers to lodge cheques.”
Mr Dennehy said the committee had contacted all of the sheep factories recently to pass on farmers’ concerns and said the current situation was “not acceptable”.
“Farmers are annoyed this basic service is not being provided to-date and are calling on factories to come forward with commitments on implementation within reasonable timeframes,” he added.
Meanwhile, Cootehill Livestock Mart confirmed it will start electronic payments to farmers as part of its commitment to support the environment.
The Cavan-based mart confirmed: “To do our little bit for the planet and save trees from felling for paper, we will reduce the amounts of paper we use by making electronic fund transfers for all payments up to €1,500.”
LSL News.