Where Did The Top Direct Payments In Each County Go In 2023?

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has released its annual publication of beneficiaries of direct payments and other measures under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2023.

EU member states are required to publish a full list of beneficiaries of all forms of CAP funding for each calendar year.

The annual publication includes the name the beneficiary (which may be an individual person, company, or other legal entity); the county or municipality where the beneficiary is resident or located; and the amount of payment received across all measures as well as particular measures.

Agriland has published an article detailing the top 10 beneficiaries nationwide, which you can read here. In this article, we reveal the top beneficiaries in each county (the names of the beneficiaries below are reproduced exactly as they appear in the department’s publication).

Starting with Leinster, we see that the highest payment in the province went to O’Shea Farms Unlimited Co of Co. Kilkenny, which received €222,637.97 in direct payments in 2023. This was the second-highest payment nationwide.

The third-highest direct payment received in Leinster in 2023 was also the third-highest payment received nationwide. This went to Godolphin Ireland Limited, based in Co. Kildare, which received €220,272.20.

The third-highest direct payment received in Leinster went to Branganstown Farms Limited of Co. Louth, which received €204,033.60.

Of the remaining nine counties in Leinster, the highest payments in four of them fell between €150,000 and €200,000; the highest payments in a further four counties fell between €100,000 and €150,000 and the highest payment in one county was less than €100,000.

The highest payments in each Leinster county are outlined in the following table:

County	Beneficiary	Direct payments
Carlow	Roscat Tillage Co Ltd	€142,793.84
Dublin	Country Crest Arable Limited	€171,450.55
Kildare	Godolphin Ireland Limited	€220,272.20
Kilkenny	O’Shea Farms Unlimited Co	€222,637.97
Laois	Sean Conroy	€135,566.64
Longford	Torboy Farms & Robert Payne	€96,443.38
Louth	Branganstown Farms Limited	€204,033.60
Meath	Gillstown Dairy Partnership	€192,415.03
Offaly	Tara Agri	€165,739.22
Westmeath	Ballynegall Feeds Ltd	€142,888.42
Wexford	JKC Farms Ltd	€148,757.58
Wicklow	Luggala Estate Ltd	€159,130.45

Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Moving on to Munster, and the highest direct payment received was €235,530.67, which went to Artemis Farms of Co. Tipperary. This was also the highest direct payment nationwide for 2023.

Castlecor Potatoes Unlimited in Co. Cork received €219,631.18, the fourth-highest figure nationally, while Cocow Farm Limited in Co. Kerry received €200,234.69, the seventh-highest figure nationally.

In Co. Waterford, the highest payment went to John & Peter Queally, which amounted to €192,133.29, the 10th highest figure nationwide.

John O’Loughlin of Co. Clare and Heathfield Dairy Farms Ltd in Co. Limerick received €124,632.00 and €125,230.08 respectively.

County	Beneficiary	Direct payments
Clare	John O’Loughlin	€124,632.00
Cork	Castlecor Potatoes Unlimited	€219,631.18
Kerry	Cocow Farm Limited	€200,234.69
Limerick	Heathfield Dairy Farms Ltd	€125,230.08
Tipperary	Artemis Farms	€235,530.67
Waterford	John & Peter Queally	€192,133.29

Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Now looking at Connacht, the highest direct payment went to Hans Weirner Meis of Co. Galway, who received €189,701.50.

Patricia Sheila Kelly of Co. Mayo received €135,721.97, while Padraig McGuinness of Co. Leitrim received €130,893.67.

In Co. Roscommon, €104,529.81 in direct payments went to Hilltop Dairies Ltd, while Michael Barrett of Co. Sligo received €94,187.00.

None of the highest recipients in Connacht featured in the top 10 beneficiaries nationwide.

County	Beneficiary	Direct payments
Galway	Hans Weirner Meis	€189,701.50
Leitrim	Padraig McGuinness	€130,893.67
Mayo	Patricia Sheila Kelly	€135,721.97
Roscommon	Hilltop Dairies Ltd	€104,529.81
Sligo	Michael Barrett	€94,187.00

Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Finally, looking at Ulster, Binnasruell Farm Ltd of Co. Donegal received €126,069.64, while Sean & Ciara Brady of Co. Cavan saw direct payments worth €110,687.48.

Finally in terms of counties based in the Republic of Ireland, Wilson Farm Ltd in Co. Monaghan received €78,114.05.

The publication also includes beneficiaries based in Norther Ireland who received funding through Ireland’s CAP programme.

The highest beneficiary in that case was Howard A Lynn, who received €32,399.04.

County	Beneficiary	Direct payments
Cavan	Sean & Ciara Brady	€110,687.48
Donegal	Binnasruell Farm Ltd	€126,069.64
Monaghan	Wilson Farm Ltd	€78,114.05
(Northern Ireland)	Howard A Lynn	€32,399.04

Source: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

(Source – Agriland – Charles O Donnell – 31/05/2024)

Who Got The Top 10 Direct Payments Under CAP In 2023?

Latest figures released by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that a Tipperary based business, Artemis Farms, received a total of €235,530.67 in direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) last year.

This was the largest direct payment under CAP in the country according to the figures published by DAFM – EU member states are required to publish a list of beneficiaries of all forms of CAP funding each year.

The annual publication on the department website includes the name of the beneficiary (which may be an individual person, company or other legal entity); the county or municipality where the beneficiary is resident; and the amount of payment for a particular CAP measure.

Payments

After Artemis Farms –  who took number one place in the top 10 CAP direct payment beneficiaries list for 2023 – the beneficiary which received the next biggest payment was Co. Kilkenny based O’ Shea Farms, who received €222,637.97.

They were followed by Co. Kildare based Godolphin Ireland Limited who received a total of €220,272.20 in direct payments under CAP.

Number four in the top 10 list for 2023 was Castlecor potatoes, based in Co. Cork who received €219,631.18.

They were followed by Co. Cork based Ghillsdltd – also referred to as Tbrownaodonovan – it received a total of €212,964.39.

Next was Co. Louth Branganstown Farms Ltd which received €204,033.60 in direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy.

Number seven in the top 10 CAP direct payment beneficiaries list 2023 was Co. Kerry based Cocow Farm Ltd, which received €200,234.69 in payments.

Next was Bellingham Farms in Co. Louth which received €193,576.93.

Number nine in the 2023 top 10 CAP direct payment beneficiaries list for 2023 was Gillstown Dairy Partnership in Co. Meath who received €192,415.03.

Finally Co. Waterford based John and Peter Queally received a total of €192,133.29 which placed them in 10th place in the 2023 list.

(Source – Agriland – Francess Mc Donnell – 30/05/2024)