Alan Dillon
Ceist:61. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the ACRES scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55644/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 14 December 2023
Ceisteanna (61)
Freagraí scríofa
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.
As is the case with all EU co-funded schemes, all ACRES applications must pass regulatory controls and validations before payment can issue. Validations are currently being carried out and 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.
Payments will commence on December 18th, with two thirds of all ACRES General participants in the final stages of being processed for payment in the initial payment run. ACRES General payments will continue to issue on an ongoing basis as cases are cleared for payment. Due to the additional complexity associated with the co-operation (CP) stream, payments for ACRES CP participants are being progressed and will begin to issue in February 2024.
A Frequently Asked Questions document has been circulated to CP Teams and approved ACRES advisors, and is published on the Department’s website.
Everything is being done to pay, as soon as possible, all ACRES participants who clear pre-payment checks.
The same three-step application process that was required in Tranche 1 is also required for application to Tranche 2. The application process opened on Wednesday, 22nd November 2023, and fully completed applications, had to be submitted by approved ACRES advisors by 5.30pm yesterday, 13th December 2023. The final number of applicants is currently being compiled.
My intention is to deliver on the Government's commitment to have 50,000 farmers participating in ACRES, which means that an additional 4,000 farmers will be accepted into the second tranche of the scheme. In the event of over-subscription to Tranche 2, a ranking and selection process will be applied based on the extent of the environmental benefit to be delivered.
Question No. 62 answered with Question No. 29.