Almost 94% of scorecards for results-based payments under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) were submitted by the recent deadline.

In June, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) issued issued over 76,500 scorecards to advisers as part of the scheme.

The department confirmed to Agriland that 93.6% of those scorecards were submitted by the closing date of August 31.

The results-based payment system is a key element of the €1.5 billion agri-environmental scheme.

It requires the assessment and scoring of certain lands entered into the scheme with payments then being made to participants on the basis of those scores.

According to the department, "results based scoring is designed to incentivise and reward participants that deliver better environmental outcomes on their lands".

A series of ACRES scorecards were developed to facilitate the assessment of the lands, three of which are species-specific while the other seven are focused on habitat.

ACRES

A spokesperson for the department said "the impact of non-submission of scorecards on payments in 2026 will be determined by which approach the participant is in".

"The non-submission of valid scorecards for the Low Input Grassland (LIG) or Low Input Peat Grassland (LIPG) actions (both of which are under the ACRES General approach) by the deadline results in the parcels to which those scorecards relate being deemed ineligible for payment in the current year and any future years of the participant’s ACRES contract, and any previous results-based payments made in respect of those parcels may be subject to recoupment.

"The non-submission, by the deadline, of valid scorecards in respect of parcels entered into ACRES under the Co-operation approach means that those parcels will be deemed ineligible for payment in the current year of the ACRES contract.

"In this latter case, the parcels to which those scorecards relate may, however, remain in the participant’s ACRES contract," they added.

Scorecards

The department said it issued "a number of reminders" about the deadline and has a facility through which ACRES advisers can check status of scorecards to help them in ensuring all are returned.

It also noted that "a range of factors can influence the return of scorecards".

"For example, the non-submission of a scorecard could arise because the land in question was rented with the ACRES participant no longer having control of it due to circumstances outside of their control," the spokesperson said.

In 2025, just under 125,300 scorecards were issued to facilitate the assessment and scoring of relevant lands in ACRES.

Over 117,000 completed scorecards (or 93.4%) were returned by last year's deadline.