Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme

What is the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme?

The Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) replaces the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). 

The BISS is designed to provide a direct income support to Irish farmers to underpin their continued sustainability and viability.

The main income support will continue to be based on Payment Entitlements.

You must have 1 eligible hectare to support each Payment Entitlement.

How to Quality

To receive a support under BISS, applicants must:

• have an Eligible Hectare to accompany each Payment Entitlement. 
• One Eligible Hectare of land declared = one BISS Payment Entitlement
• be a holder of a registered herd number or have applied for a herd number on or before 29 May 2023.
• be an Active Farmer: The person claiming payments on the land must be the person farming and/or managing the land. The farming activities can include meeting a minimum stocking rate (0.10 livestock unit per forage hectare), producing crops, cutting hay/silage, maintaining landscape features. 

If you are not the person farming/managing the land, you should not be declaring the land on your 2023 BISS application.

Rates of Payment 

You are paid per hectare of eligible land farmed and for which you hold entitlements. This is called an Eligible Hectare under the BISS scheme. The maximum rate that you could be paid per hectare is determined by the value of the entitlements you hold.

The number and values of entitlements each farmer holds, depends on factors such as:

• payment rates and number of entitlements received under previous direct payment schemes.
• adjustments each year to move values towards the national average (convergence)
• transfers of entitlements between farmers

Each entitlement the farmer holds must be supported by an Eligible Hectare to qualify for payment.

Maximum and Minimum Payments

The maximum payment that will be granted to any one farmer under the BISS, in any one scheme year is capped at a rate of €66,000. 

No payment will be made under the BISS where the amount is less than €100.

An advance payment may be made in October. Balancing payments under the BISS commence in December.

If you do not meet all of the conditions of the scheme you may receive a reduced payment or no payment.

Where to Apply

Applications must be submitted online at agfood.ie by midnight on Monday 29 May 2023. 

If your login or password has expired and needs to be renewed, please contact the department’s Online Services Helpdesk.

Agfood Online Services Helpdesk

Address: Government Offices, Farnham Street, Cavan, Co Cavan, H12 D459

Website: agfood.ie

Email: [email protected]

Phone number: 049 4368288

Alternatively, you can authorise a Farm Advisory System (FAS) approved Advisor to apply on your behalf. For a listing of approved advisors please go to: Farm Advisory System (FAS).

The 2023 BISS User Guide

For access to the full BISS User Guide please click here.

Terms and Conditions

For the full BISS Terms & Conditions please click here.

Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Entitlements

What are Payment Entitlements?

The Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) payment is based on the number of hectares farmed and the number and value of payment entitlements held. 

Farmers receive an allocation of payment entitlements for their farm under BISS. The initial allocation of payment entitlements in 2023 is equal to the number held at the end of the 2022 scheme year. 

A farmer must declare at least one hectare of eligible farmland for each payment entitlement to qualify for their full payment. 

The number of payment entitlements each farmer holds, and their values, vary depending on various factors such as:

• payment rates received under previous direct payment schemes

• adjustments each year to move values towards the national average (convergence)

• any allocations received from the National Reserve

Usage Rule

All payment entitlements must be used at least once every two years. Any payment entitlement that remains unused for two years in a row will revert to the National Reserve. As 2023 is the start of a new CAP scheme, all payment entitlements are in year 1 of usage. No payment entitlements will be surrendered through usage in 2023.

For more detailed information on the usage of payment entitlements please click here.

Transfer of Payment Entitlements 

Farmers can choose to transfer payment entitlements to another farmer. Payment entitlements are a monetary asset under BISS and they can be transferred with or without land. 

Transferring payment entitlements allows farmers to adapt to their individual needs on an annual basis by changing their payment entitlement position. Transferring payment entitlements may increase or decrease the number of payment entitlements held by a farmer, subsequently raising or lowering their payments and ultimately leading them further away from the historic reference points.

BISS payment entitlements may only be transferred to an active farmer in the same member state, except in the case of inheritance or anticipated inheritance (gift). 

The farmer making the transfer and farmer receiving the transfer must apply to transfer payment entitlements by completing an online Transfer of Entitlements application. This can be done via the department’s online system by logging in at agfood.ie. 

The methods for transferring payment entitlements are as follows:

• inheritance
• gift
• lease
• sale
• scission (division of an Unregistered Farm Partnership).
• merger (forming an Unregistered Farm Partnership)
• change of Legal Entity
• change of Registration Details of Herd Number

Payment entitlements may not be transferred more than once in a scheme year, unless by way of inheritance or gift.

Regarding leased or rented payment entitlements, these will revert to the farmer making the transfer at the end of the relevant scheme year – this is not considered a form of transfer. 

Clawback Rule

Previously, if payment entitlements were sold without land there was a “clawback” of 20% of the number of payment entitlements sold. This has been removed temporarily. Therefore, there will be no clawback of payment entitlements applied to any transfer of payment entitlements for 2023 or 2024.

Transfer Dates

The effective date of transfer of payment entitlements in all cases is the closing date, usually 15^th May each year. However, if the entire holding or ownership of a herd number is transferred between the date of application for BISS and the 31^stof May, the farmer receiving the transfer must agree to take on the responsibilities of the farmer making the transfer regarding the conditions of the relevant BISS Scheme year by completing a Declaration of Undertaking Form.

The Declaration of Undertaking Form must be completed by both the farmer making the transfer and farmer receiving the transfer and must be submitted online along with the Transfer of Entitlements application. 

The farmer receiving the transfer must meet the conditions for granting the aid and honour the undertakings given by the farmer making the transfer and, if otherwise in order, payment of that year’s BISS Payment will issue to the farmer receiving the transfer. 

If the entire holding or ownership of the herd number changes after the 31^st of May, the Basic Payment for that year will issue to the farmer who made the transfer for that scheme year then it will issue to the farmer receiving the transfer from the year after.

Transfer of Payment Entitlements by Groups

Transfer of payment entitlements applications may be submitted by groups such as joint herd number, a registered or unregistered partnership, or a company. Documents and information submitted in support of applications made by such groups are submitted with the consent of, and are available to, all members of the group and authorised agents acting on behalf of the group.

How to Apply to Transfer Payment Entitlements

You must comply with all the conditions of the transfer of payment entitlements process and all the conditions of the BISS and other related schemes. 

Applications for the transfer of payment entitlements must be made via the Department’s online system by logging in at agfood.ie.  Any supporting forms or documents should be uploaded using your agfood account also (forms available below). 

If your login or password are expired and need to be renewed please contact the Department’s helpdesk.

Agfood Online Services Helpdesk

Address: Government Offices, Farnham Street, Cavan, Co Cavan, H12 D459

Website: agfood.ie

Email: [email protected]

Phone number: 049 4368288

Alternatively, you can authorise a Farm Advisory System (FAS) approved Advisor to apply on your behalf. For a listing of approved advisors please go to: Farm Advisory System (FAS).

Frequently Raised Topics

To view frequently asked questions and answers regarding Transfer of Entitlements please click here.

Transfer of Entitlements – Common Errors

To view common errors regarding the Transfer of Entitlements Application process please click here.