Patrick O'Donovan
Question:1231. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when an ACRES payment will issue to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57146/23]
View answerWednesday, 17 January 2024
Questions (1231)
Written answers
In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, a flagship environmental scheme, namely the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), was launched last year. 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 46,000 applicants has put significant pressure on the ability to pay all participants in 2023.
Officials have been working to expedite payments, but with the unprecedented numbers, it has not been possible to get all participants paid in ACRES by the year end. 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. The person named is a participant in ACRES CP.