The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has estimated that 13,252 of all farmers (29.5%) in tranche 1 of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) are still waiting on payments.
The majority of these farmers are co-operation participants – 7,890 – while the number of farmers in ACRES general awaiting a payment totals 5,362.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue confirmed the figures to the Independent TD for Kerry, Danny Healy-Rae.
In the latest ACRES update Minister McConalogue said that a total of 31,808 participants have been paid to date “with total payments made to ACRES participants since last December now amounting to just under €234 million”.
However, he also acknowledged that “further balancing payments will continue to be made on a fortnightly basis as cases are cleared”.
Minister McConalogue also highlighted to Deputy Healy-Rae that ACRES payments for 2023 began over the period December 2023 to January 2024 and that €88.35 million was issued in advance payments to 19,719 ACRES general participants.
“In recognition of the time required to fully process all payments, due to the complexity of the scheme, I ensured that interim payments issued to all other participants in February and March 2024.
“Payments of €4,000 were made to general participants and €5,000 to co-operation participants.
“All tranche 1 participants received either an advance or an interim payment,” he added.
Minister McConalogue and his department have repeatedly come under fire from farm organisations because of delays on ACRES payments.
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has claimed that ACRES is “short changing” farmers while the president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), Sean McNamara, warned last month that the “prolonged saga of delayed ACRES payments has been ongoing for far too long”.
ACRES
The latest hurdle now facing the minister and his department in relation to the scheme concerns the 6,797 participants who are now in “debt” to DAFM because the interim payment they received “was greater than the calculated payment for the scheme year”.
Minister McConalogue told Deputy Healy-Rae that “while there is an obligation on the department to make recoupments in the cases of any overpayment arising from interim payments at the first opportunity, I have asked my department to engage positively with any farmer that contacts them and show flexibility in cases of financial hardship”.
“Further details of how farmers can contact the department to request this flexibility will be notified to farmers in the near future,” he added.