Press release
Minister McConalogue announces commencement of ACRES payments
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, today announced the commencement of advance payments for Tranche 1 under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
The Minister also confirmed a significant response to the Non-Productive Investments (NPIs) option under the ACRES Co-operation (CP) stream and has confirmed that just under 9,200 applications have been received under Tranche 2 of ACRES.
In line with the revised payment schedule published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) on 6 December 2023, a total of €76.5 million is now being paid to more than 17,000 ACRES General participants in the coming days. ACRES advance payments represent 85% of the total scheme year payment, with the balance to be paid in May 2024. The average ACRES payment issuing this week is almost €4,500 for an individual farmer. This first ACRES pay run includes all ACRES General participants that have cleared payment validations. Co-operation advance payments will begin to issue in February 2024.
Commenting on the revised payment dates for ACRES Co-operation participants, the Minister said:
“With the aim of improving both our environmental ambition and increasing our farm income support, I approved over 46,000 applications into ACRES earlier this year. It has not been without its challenges, but I want to acknowledge the intensive and focused efforts of all involved in the implementation of the Scheme - of farmers, of advisors, of the ACRES Co-operation Project teams and of officials across Government - who have all been working together on the first year of this new scheme. This ambition, and willingness to protect farm habitats, is also reflected in the significant number of Non-Productive Investment applications submitted by ACRES Co-operation Project farmers. My department will continue, as a priority, to work on delivering all outstanding ACRES General payments as soon as possible, and on the commencement of ACRES CP payments in February 2024.”
ACRES payments will add to the range of financial supports - coming to a total of approximately €1.4 billion - delivered to Irish farmers under the new CAP Strategic Plan since October. This includes payments under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS), the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme, Eco Scheme, and the Organic Farming Scheme.
The ACRES CP NPI application system closed recently, and applications were submitted by ACRES advisors on behalf of almost 4,300 farmers. Just under 44,000 individual NPIs have been included in the annual NPI work plans submitted. The ACRES Co-operation Project Teams will now begin the process of screening the individual actions at farm level, to ensure the right action in the right place.
On ACRES Tranche 2, the Minister confirmed that the application window has now closed with almost 9,200 applications received. The bulk of Tranche 2 applications have been submitted under the ACRES General stream, with thirty percent of applicants applying under ACRES Co-operation.
Tranche 2 applications will be reviewed in the coming weeks to ensure they comply with eligibility criteria. The Minister confirmed that Tranche 2 of the scheme will see in the region of 4,000 approvals issued, bringing the total number of farmers supported under ACRES to the 50,000 maximum as outlined in Ireland’s Cap Strategic Plan. Applications that clear the eligibility criteria will be ranked in line with the ranking and selection criteria outlined in the scheme terms and conditions. The Minister confirmed that successful Tranche 2 applicants will be contacted by the department in the first quarter of 2024.
The EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) is a partnership between society and agriculture that ensures a stable supply of food, safeguards farmers’ income, protects the environment, and keeps rural areas vibrant. EU countries implement the CAP at national level with a tailored CAP Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027. Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan is co-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the EU. For more information, visit gov.ie/cap.
The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is the agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027. The Scheme is jointly funded by the European Union and the national exchequer. ACRES payments have now commenced. The sequence of payments was published by the Minister on 6 December to start with ACRES General. Payments for ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) participants are being progressed and will begin to issue in February 2024.
The FAQ document, which was circulated to the CP Teams and approved ACRES advisors and published on the department’s website last week, is available here: Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
The application window for ACRES Tranche 2 closed on Wednesday 13 at 5.30pm with just under 9,200 applications submitted.
ACRES Training Scheme (ATS) payments are issuing on an ongoing basis. This ACRES pay run includes almost two-thirds of all ACRES General participants. This is consistent with the rates achieved in previous agri-environment schemes. This is the first time delivering such a complex payment structure of prescription and results-based actions, on a national scale. The department will continue to process payments, both General, CP and ATS until all valid claims are paid.
Non-productive Investments (NPIs) are certain actions that may be chosen and carried out on holdings by participants of the ACRES CP stream only. NPIs are targeted towards protection or remediation of threats and pressures as well as future protection or enhancement of biodiversity, water quality or other environmental aspects. Correspondingly, NPIs are used to increase the results-based field score.
A list of NPIs and the specifications can be found at: Agri-Climate and Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).