23 March 2026
SDLP Opposition AERA Spokesperson Daniel McCrossan MLA has said that the Sinn Féin Finance Minister must guarantee funding for Areas with Natural Constraints (ANC) payments.
He was speaking during the Second Stage of the ANC Payments Bill in the Assembly on Monday.
West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan said:
“The SDLP Opposition supports the restoration of ANC payments for disadvantaged farmers across the North. The loss of this funding following Brexit has placed significant financial pressure on many small, upland family farms and made it increasingly difficult for them to remain viable.
“However, we have concerns given the difficult financial picture facing Stormont whether this funding will ever materialise, even if this legislation is passed. You only have to look at the free hospital car parking fiasco – back on the order paper this week to delay it once again due to a lack of funding, despite the overwhelming support of the Assembly.
“Sinn Féin need to be honest with farmers. It is a Sinn Féin MLA bringing forward this legislation and raising expectations, and it is a Sinn Féin Finance Minister who will ultimately have to fund it. The SDLP Opposition will continue to press Sinn Féin and the other Executive parties to deliver this much-needed support, but if they are bringing forward legislation they must guarantee the funding to match it.”