Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 November 2022
1281. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department consulted and engaged with hill farmers before the ACRES scheme was launched; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54993/22]
View answerThe Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is the agri-environment climate measure which forms part of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023 – 2027. While I provided information on the draft Scheme on 21st June 2022, I announced the formal opening of the Scheme on 19th October 2022, for which applications may be submitted until 21st November 2022.
The Department engaged extensively with all stakeholders including farm bodies in relation to the development of Ireland’s CSP.
The CAP Consultative Committee was specifically formed for consultation and engagement with a range of stakeholders, including representatives from the farm bodies. The CAP Consultative Committee met on 33 Occasions, which included thematic workshops on the Green Architecture and proposed interventions, one of which was the agri-environment climate measure, now known as ACRES.
I personally engaged directly with farmers at mart meetings in 2021. I held consultation meetings at marts in every county in Ireland.
The Department also arranged a series of townhall meetings as well as public consultations to afford the maximum opportunity for stakeholder input, including:
- Five Public Consultations on the development of the CSP
- Twelve Townhall meetings
- Three virtual townhall meetings on 10, 11 and 12 August 2021
- Fourteen Information Sessions held nationwide in February and March 2022.
Representatives from the relevant Divisions in my Department also held over a hundred meetings with various representative organisations.
