The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised questions over how the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be funded.
ACRES will take the place of the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) as the main agri-environment scheme in Pillar II of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2023.
When it was initially envisaged during negotiations for the Programme for Government (in which it was referred to as a ‘flagship environment scheme’), the programme said it would be funded by some of the government’s receipts from the Carbon Tax (collectively referred to as the Climate Action Fund).
This fund – expected to amount to €1.5 billion by 2030 – is due to be allocated to different government departments for various purposes, including to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the purpose of funding ACRES.
This allocation would form part of the overall funding for ACRES over the course of the next CAP to 2027, it is understood.
However, the PAC has raised questions into whether this funding is part of the state’s co-financing of Pillar II, or if it is a separate allocation of funds outside of CAP funding.
In a new report into the department’s expenditure, the PAC said that it had been told by the department that “the Programme for Government commits to a €1.5 billion agri-environmental fund…the money for which will come from carbon taxes”.
The committee’s report also notes the Programme for Government commitment to put monies from the Climate Action Fund towards a “programme to encourage and incentivise farmers to farm in a greener and more sustainable way”.
“This funding will be additional to funding from the Common Agricultural Policy. It will include incentives to plant native forestry and to enhance and support biodiversity,” the Programme for Government stated.
The PAC said that an investment of €1.5 billion in addition to the CAP would represent a “significant investment” in agriculture and would contribute positively towards meeting the state’s climate objectives.
However, the committee has queried whether funds are in addition to the CAP, or are part of the state’s co-financing of Pillar II.
The PAC is asking the department to provide a report by January 2023 as to its intended allocation of its share of the Climate Action Fund to ACRES over the course of the new CAP, as well as the co-financing rate.
The committee is also asking the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to provide an update on allocations provided to the Department of Agriculture from the Climate Action Fund.