IFA says it has secured agreement from Teagasc that Knowledge Transfer data to be submitted to the Department of Agriculture will not be held up pending resolution of client fee issues.
IFA Rural Development Chairman Joe Brady said IFA is insisting that the Department of Agriculture makes the Knowledge Transfer payment of €750 to farmers by the end of October and that there must be no excuses or impediments put in the way of that.
IFA Deputy President Richard Kennedy pointed out to Teagasc that farmers are asked to pay for veterinary charges and adding in an additional fee for Teagasc diminishes the value of the €750 payment to the farmer under the scheme.
In addition, Richard Kennedy has already told the Department of Agriculture that IFA wants veterinary fees abolished from the Knowledge Transfer programme.
Fianna Fáil TD Eugene Murphy had called for the confusion surrounding the fees being charged by Teagasc for farmers taking part in the Knowledge Transfer (KT) programme to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
He said he had been contacted by a number of farmers who were being charged up to €460 to be a part of the Teagasc Knowledge Transfer programme.
Deputy Murphy said that the farmers were not notified of the fees before they entered the programme and are now being told that if the fees are not paid their paperwork will be withheld from the Department of Agriculture until the fees are paid in full.
Deputy Murphy said he would be seeking clarification in relation to the fees structure from the Department of Agriculture to ascertain what exactly the farmers are paying for in relation to the administration costs.
