Seán Canney
Question:1282. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason woodland on a farm is not recognised in the new acres scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37912/23]
View answerMonday, 11 September 2023
Questions (1282)
Written answers
The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is an agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027. ACRES is designed to deliver significant long term environmental improvement through the participation by a significant number of farmers on the most appropriate land.
To be eligible to participate in ACRES, an applicant must be an ‘active farmer’ in accordance with the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme who, if approved into ACRES, commits to delivering certain actions which go beyond conditionality.
As stated in Section 8.12 of the ACRES Terms and Conditions, “Except for Barn Owl boxes, the parcel selected on which a General Action is to be delivered must have an MEA/eligible hectare greater than zero in year of application”. An ‘MEA’ is the maximum area within a digitised parcel that can be claimed under BISS, with an ‘Eligible Hectare’ being an agricultural area with an agricultural activity and land that is at the farmer’s disposal.
While an eligible hectare is firstly an agricultural area that is used for an agricultural activity, it can also contain other areas. Beneficial Features may occupy up to 50% of the reference parcel. These features can be scattered throughout the reference parcel or can be confined to a particular area within the parcel. However, beneficial features will be deemed part of the eligible hectare once they are less than 50% of the reference parcel area minus deductions for any artificial features and water bodies. Woodland is one of the main beneficial features.
The location of the action undertaken as part of the ACRES contract must comply with the requirements and specifications for that action. If a parcel is declared as Woodland on an applicant’s BISS and the MEA of that parcel was equal to zero then the only ACRES action payable on that parcel in ACRES is Barn Owl Box.
It should be noted that if an applicant for Tranche 1 of ACRES was a participant in the Native Woodland Establishment Scheme or GPC 11 (Agro-forestry) by the closing date for applications for that Tranche, they were eligible for Tier 2 priority entry to the General scheme.
The Terms and Conditions and Specifications for Tranche 2 of ACRES will be made available in advance of its opening for applications later this year.