With the planned exit of Ulster Bank and KBC from the Irish banking sector, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, is urging farmers to contact his department as soon as possible with their new account details to ensure uninterrupted receipt of their scheme payments.
Minister McConalague said: “My department has actively engaged with farmers that have had scheme payments issued into accounts in these two banks. Between March and August of this year, my department communicated by letter and text with some 12,000 farmers that had received scheme payments into Ulster Bank and KBC Bank accounts during 2020 and 2021, and who still had these accounts registered with the department.
“Farmers were advised how to access the necessary payment mandate form which was enclosed in the letters and also available from my department’s website.”
Minister McConalogue continued: “In early September, as part of a general letter advising farmers of expected scheme payment dates, farmers were once again reminded of the need to notify the department when they change the account into which they wish to receive payments. There is no need to wait until their Ulster Bank or KBC Bank account is closed.”
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has also engaged directly with Ulster Bank on the issue. Some 6,000 of the 12,000 farmers who received scheme payments to Ulster and KBC Bank accounts during 2022 to date have now provided new account details to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Around 4,800 of the recent Area of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme payments were issued to Ulster Bank and KBC Bank accounts, compared with 10,000 for the same payment run in 2021. This indicates that almost 50% of farmers who have been using the banks have not yet provided the department with a new account for receipt of payments.
Department staff was also available at the recent National Ploughing Championships event to provide guidance to farmers on changing their payment accounts in the context of the Ulster Bank and KBC Bank closures.