Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 March 2023
52. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications from Cavan-Monaghan that were accepted to the ACRES scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11746/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme, or ACRES as it is more generally known, is the central agri-environment climate measure in Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027 and is the successor to the Green Low Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS). The Government has committed €1.5 billion to ACRES - the largest amount ever committed to an agri-environment scheme.
As the Deputy may be aware, Tranche 1 of the Scheme, which opened for applications last October, was significantly oversubscribed, with over 46,000 applications received for the 30,000 places allocated to be filled under Tranche 1. I was pleased to announce last week the acceptance of all valid applications received for Tranche 1 into the Scheme.
I note that, on foot of the decision to accept all valid applications, approval letters are issuing to over 2,300 successful applicants who hold Cavan/Monaghan Business IDs. I refer to Business IDs as this encompasses individual herd numbers, registered farm partnerships and companies registered with my Department.
Successful ACRES applicants are receiving their formal approval letters this week, followed by an approval summary by the end of March. The approval summary will show where actions have been mapped on the participant’s farm and will be accompanied by a copy of the Farmland Plant Identification Guide, a booklet produced by my Department to help farmers identify the indicator species on their land to be used in the scoring process.
ACRES has been designed to deliver significant long-term environmental improvement through the participation by a significant number of farmers on the most appropriate land, with each making a strong improvement on their farm. Farmers have shown, by the level of interest in Tranche 1 of ACRES, that they are ready and willing to play their part in delivering the maximum possible environmental benefit.
While it will be challenging, and it will require intensive and focused effort from all concerned - from my Department, from advisors, from Co-operation Project Teams and from farmers. I look forward to working with everyone to achieve that objective.
