Sinn Fein has hit out at the Junior Agriculture Minister over excluding illegally burnt land from farmers' Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) applications.

Agriculture spokesperson Martin Kenny TD said Minister Andrew Doyle is threatening farmers with penalties if burnt land is included on their applications.

He said: "Some of these farmers had applied for Basic Payments before they fell victim to illegal burning. Many more are still exhausted from their efforts to put out fires which encroached on their lands.

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"It is a simplistic, inefficient, and cruel way to deal with the victims of the illegal burning in past weeks to exclude them from payments solely on the basis of satellite images without any regard for the farmers who did not burn their land illegally, were the victims of fires they did not set, and did all in their power to prevent the burning of their land.

"I am seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister to discuss this measure and ask him to rescind his instruction regarding BPS payments until a fairer solution can be found."

(CD/MH)