Peter Burke
Ceist:1225. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will revise the criteria for the current ACRES scheme. [57016/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 17 January 2024
Ceisteanna (1225)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy may be aware, intake into the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is on a phased basis, in two tranches. The Government has committed €1.5 billion to ACRES over the duration of the scheme to facilitate the participation of 50,000 farmers. The funding provided in Budget 2024 facilitates the acceptance of some 4,000 applicants under Tranche 2 into ACRES to bring the overall numbers in the Scheme up to that level, which is also in line with Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
The deadline for submission of applications for Tranche 2 of ACRES was 13th December 2023. The next step in the process is the validation of those applications against the eligibility criteria as stated in the Terms and Conditions for Tranche 2 of ACRES. As the number of applications exceeds the number of spaces remaining in the Scheme, a ranking and selection process will be undertaken.
The selection criteria and marking system for Tranche 2 are explained in the Terms and Conditions for Tranche 2 of ACRES, which are available on my Department’s website. The guiding principle in framing those criteria is to maximise the contribution that ACRES can make to meeting a range of environmental, climate and biodiversity objectives and challenges, and I am satisfied that the assignment of marks is appropriate for that purpose.