Farmers are due to get a welcome boost ahead of Christmas, as the Department of Agriculture tonight begins paying out €600m in EU farm payments.
The money comes on top of another €600m previously given to farmers in direct payments.
Farmers will use the cash to settle their bills after a very bad start to the year.
€50m of the €600m will be allocated to farmers in environment protection schemes.
€550m will be spent on the second part of the EU Single farm payment which will be paid to 119,000 farmers.
This will work out as an average payment of €4,600 which coupled with the earlier payment works out at €9600 this year.
Individual amounts vary widely, the smallest amount being in the hundreds, the largest in the hundreds of thousands.
Farmers' representatives say the single farm payment is not easy money, that it supplements the cost of food production.
Minister Simon Coveney, who travelled to Japan on a trade mission today said the cash boost to farmers will bring economic benefit to towns and village across the country.
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