Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
1194. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider issuing an interim payment to farmers who have qualified for ACRES in light of the delays with the overall payments to help alleviate the financial burden on farmers at this time of the year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56524/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, and in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, a flagship environmental scheme, namely the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), was launched in 2022 There has been 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 into Tranche 1 has put significant pressure on the ability to pay all participants in 2023.
My officials have been working to expedite payments, but with the unprecedented numbers, it was not possible to get all participants paid by the end of 2023. Due to the additional complexity associated with the Co-operation Project (CP) stream, payments will begin to issue in February 2024 for cases that pass all pre-payment validation checks.
Regarding the issuing of an interim payment to farmers, such a payment is not a realistic proposition, as it would not meet the standards required to access EU funding in accordance with the new performance reporting obligations under Ireland's 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan.
I want to reassure the Deputy that everything is being done to pay, as soon as possible in 2024, all ACRES participants who clear pre-payment checks.
