The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) has said that the interim payment rates for the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) represent a “fair effort” by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue to address payment delays.
Last week, Minister McConalogue announced that the rate of interim payments will be €4,000 for those in ACRES General and €5,000 for those in the ACRES Co-operation.
This came after the INHFA said that the payments must be at least 80% of the total payments due.
INHFA vice-president John Joe Fitzgerald said that credit is due to the minister for setting these payment rates.
“The payment…is for many farmers a financial lifeline as they deal with rising costs that continue to overshadow improving market returns,” Fitzgerald said.
However, he also reiterated the INHFA’s ongoing concern over the possible penalisation of farmers under ACRES where turf cutting is taking place on commonage land.
“The issuing of these payments…provides room to address ongoing issues relating to ACRES, one of which relates to concerns around active turf-cutting on commonages,” Fitzgerald said.
“This is a live concern we have. The INHFA have highlighted this with the minister and (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine) staff, and as concern amongst farmers grows, it is vital that we find a fair solution.
“The solution cannot penalise farmers for the actions of others, especially where these actions are not breaking the law,” the INHFA president added.
He also called on Minister McConalogue to accommodate all applicants to ACRES tranche 2 (numbering over 9,000), as opposed to the 4,000 spaces that the minister has previously said are available for that tranche.
ACRES is budgeted for 50,000 participants. As all 46,000 applicants to tranche 1 were accepted into the scheme, this leaves only 4,000 remaining places. The minister has previously indicated that no more than 4,000 tranche 2 applicants can be accepted.
Fitzgerald said that accommodating all tranche 2 applicants “will cost in the region of €30 million annually but should be seen in the context of commitments given to supporting farmers as they address national and global concerns around biodiversity and climate change”.