All applicants to the Agri Climate Rural Environmental Scheme (ACRES) will be unblocked today (Thursday, March 23), meaning they will be able to see the status of the actions they have applied for and submit their Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application.
Mary Carey, principal officer at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Direct Payments Division confirmed the update this morning at the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) annual general meeting (AGM) in Portlaoise.
She confirmed that all those who have not been able to submit their BISS application, which covers nine schemes, due to the fact that the ACRES application portal was blocked, will be able to do so this afternoon.
Applicants can check for the update and proceed with the BISS process on the agfood portal.
Key details of ACRES were released last August including the various actions that can potentially be taken under the scheme and their associated payment rates.
Farmers who applied to the scheme could pick from this list, although some were restricted in what they could choose dependent on whether they were in the ACRES General or ACRES Co-operation approach.
However, all were in the dark as to which actions were approved in their application – until today.
ACRES updates
Pat Morrisson, agricultural inspector with the Agricultural Environment and Structures Division of the DAFM also provided some updates on the scheme at the meeting.
He stated that the majority of approval letters for the ACRES scheme have been sent out to applicants, with “only a few still to go out which will issue shortly”.
According to Morrisson, the department is working to develop a smartphone app that will facilitate the scorecards and results-based system that the scheme is based on, while the department is developing its own IT inspection system.
He explained that the two-week extension which was granted for application, the decision to allow the additional applicants to take part in the scheme and some technical issues, pushed back the validation process.
“The number of applications increased and put our system under more pressure,” he said.
Addressing questions from ACA members, Morrisson said that the plan is to have these systems developed by September, so that consultants and advisors can score their clients during the summer period, and submit the payments in early autumn.
He also confirmed that the department will provide additional ACRES training for new advisors on April 19, in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, and that it is working on organising additional sessions around the country.
“We will also organise a webinar on the scoring system and how it will operate soon,” he added.