As the deputy is aware, and in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) was launched last year as a flagship environmental scheme under the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027 with a budget of €1.5bn over its duration.
It was fantastic and a credit to our farmers to see the exceptional demand for entry into the ACRES Scheme, demonstrating their interest in taking on actions to address climate, biodiversity, and environmental issues.
While it was initially planned to take in applicants in two Tranches, with 30,000 in Tranche 1, in respect of the ambition of our farmers, I made a decision, which was supported by Government to accept all valid applications submitted last year. There are now just under 46,000 farmers actively involved in the Scheme.
I do acknowledge the intensive and focused efforts of all involved in the implementation of the Scheme - of farmers, of advisors, of the ACRES Co-operation Project teams and of officials across Government - who have all been working together on the first year of this new scheme.
However, the decision to accept all applicants into Tranche 1 of ACRES has put significant pressure on the ability to pay all eligible participants in 2023.
I want to further acknowledge that farmers were expecting payment before the end of the year and that my officials have been working to expedite payments, but with the unprecedented numbers, it has not been possible to get all eligible applicants paid in ACRES by the year end.
I want to reconfirm that payments for ACRES General participants will commence on December 18th 2023. Due to the additional complexity associated with the Co-operation Project (CP) stream, payments for ACRES CP participants are being progressed and will begin to issue in February 2024. Everything is being done to pay all ACRES applicants who clear pre-payment checks as a matter of priority.
In response to requests for advance payments, it is important for budgetary and audit purposes, and for farmers themselves, that the correct payment is made at the outset. A once-off or interim payment is not an alternative, as it would undermine the integrity of the ACRES payment system, and any such expenditure would not meet the standards required to access EU funding in accordance with the new performance reporting obligations under the CAP Strategic Plan.
I would also point out that this Government has allocated some €9.8 billion over the next five years through the CSP to farming families and rural communities, to support the production of world class, safe and sustainable food, and to support farmers’ efforts to help us achieve our climate and environment ambitions. ACRES has funding of €1.5 billion over its five-year lifetime, to facilitate the participation of 50,000 farmers.
The structure of ACRES is at the forefront of agri-environmental schemes across Europe. I want to acknowledge the achievements that we have secured to date in scaling a results-based approach up to a national level, building on the success of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) initiative, which farmers have found to be extremely effective and rewarding.
