Farmers who have missed out on applying to the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) Tranche 1 will not get an opportunity to apply for the scheme in early 2023, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed.
The minister told the Dáil that he has ruled out an early open date for ACRES in 2023 because “there are specific workloads throughout the year”.
The independent Galway East TD Seán Canney had asked the minister during a Dáil debate if he would open ACRES early in 2023 “to allow farmers who could not meet the 2022 application deadline to qualify for a payment in 2023”.
Deputy Canney said he raised the issue because there were farmers who had “not applied or had time to apply or have missed the deadline through no fault of their own” and would therefore not receive a payment next year.
Minister McConalogue said he was conscious that there could be a “gap” year in payments for some farmers.
He told the Dáil it was an issue that his team were working on.
The agriculture minister said: “Regarding a gap year, that is something I am conscious of and have discussed with farmers as well.
“It is also something I am reflecting on with our team as to how we may be able to accommodate that because for those who were previously involved in the Green Low Carbon Agri-Environment scheme (GLAS) but who may not be involved in ACRES that is a real challenge.
“It is a significant source of income as well as the contribution it facilitates farmers to make to working on environmental goods. It is something I am conscious of and will reflect on further.”
ACRES and GLAS
Deputy Canney told the Dáil that he was concerned about the impact on farming families if they missed out on financial support payments from GLAS or ACRES.
“If farmers who were in GLAS cannot get into this scheme (ACRES) there will be a gap in their income next year and many are wondering, as the minister knows well, what will happen to them.
“I understand they have a severe workload right now but I encourage him and the department to consider opening the scheme towards the end of March to get the next tranche ready and maybe some payment could be made to those farmers towards the end of the year. That would be important,” Deputy Canney added.
But Minister McConalogue has ruled this out.
“It will not be possible to open the scheme earlier next year because there are specific workloads throughout the year,” the minister stated.
“This puts a massive workload on advisers and March-April is the key time of year for basic income support through the basic payment scheme, Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) applications.
“We have worked closely with the advisers and their representatives on the window for applying for ACRES and on how we will do it next year,” he added.
The minister said the scheme will open in the “latter part of the year” in 2023 for new applicants.