The amounts paid annually in EU subsidies to each of Ireland's 130,000 farmers is to become public knowledge from 2008.
The Council of Farm Ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday agreed in principle to the annual publication of the money paid to farmers. This will mean that for the first time the European taxpayer will be able to check what each individual farmer is receiving annually. Irish farmers will receive €1.6 billion in subsidies this year from Brussels and up to now it was very difficult to access this information.
In Ireland the Department of Agriculture has to have the consent of each recipient before it can publish data which has to be obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Following yesterday's decision, the matter goes back to the European Commission which will now draw up detailed rules on how and where the information will be made available.
EU sources said last night there would be no lower limit on the amounts to be published and it was likely the list of 130,000 farmers' names would be placed on a website.
The site will also carry details of other payments made from the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap)budget including export subsidies and development grants to meat plants.
The move to full transparency in the Cap payments follows confirmation farmers will no longer receive cheques in the post from Brussels. The EU has decided that in 13 months' time, farmers will be paid directly into their bank accounts.
Fewer than 50 per cent of Irish farmers have provided bank account numbers to the Department of Agriculture to make electronic payments despite continuing pressure on them to do so.
However, the commission has now told the Government that it will no longer allow payment in cheque form to recipients.
"This means that we cannot issue cheques to farmers and if we do so, the State will be penalised by the commission," said a department spokesman.