Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
1180. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers affected by delays to the ACRES payment; the number of farmers affected by delays to the ACRES co-operation payment; the estimated dates of payment for each cohort; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56490/23]
View answerAs the deputy is aware, and in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) was launched in 2022. There was exceptional demand for entry into the Scheme, which demonstrates the interest of farmers to take 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, as a Government the decision was made to accept all valid applications submitted, and there are now just under 46,000 farmers actively involved in the Scheme. The decision to accept all eligible applicants put significant pressure on the ability to make an advance payment to participants by the end of December last year.
On 15 December I announced that payments to the value of €76.5 million had commenced to more than 17,100 ACRES General participants. The remaining approximately 9,500 ACRES General participants will continue to be processed for payment, with payments issuing early in 2024 subject to passing validation checks. For ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) participants, payments will commence in February to those of the 18,400 eligible participants in this stream who pass validation and other checks.
My Officials are continuing to work to expedite payments, and I want to reassure the Deputy that everything is being done to pay, as soon as possible, all ACRES participants who clear pre-payment checks.
