The minister for Agriland, Food and the Marine has been asked to “remedy” the situation for young farmers who may want to participate in environmental schemes, including the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) but are currently ineligible.
According to the Independent Kerry TD, Michael Healy-Rae this means that young farmers will be “locked out” of ACRES.
He asked Minister Charlie McConalogue what the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) can now do in relation to young farmers and ACRES, via a parliamentary question.
According to Minister McConalogue one of the eligibility requirements for a farmer to participate in Tranche 2 of ACRES is the submission of a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application for 2022.
“A further requirement is that all lands must also be declared in the applicant’s 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application and declared on the applicant’s BISS application for all subsequent years of participation.
“A farmer who does not have a BPS 2022 or BISS 2023 will not therefore be eligible for Tranche 2 of ACRES,” the minister added.
Details of the application process for Tranche 2 of ACRES were published last month.
Minister McConalogue also told Deputy Healy-Rae that farmers and their ACRES advisors “can now commence some of the associated preparatory work, namely the submission of an Expression of Interest and the preparation of the farm sustainability plan”.
“The final step in the process of submitting the application will be available shortly,” he added.
ACRES
Separately the Fine Gael TD for Mayo, Alan Dillon, also raised the issue of young farmers and ACRES in the Dáil this week.
Deputy Dillon said “significant barriers” exist for young farmers, who he said, are “environmentally conscious” and have the skills to “transition the practices on their farms towards more eco-friendly ones”.
He said an “obstacle” for young farmers is the “failure of DAFM to grant concessions for farmers under the age of 40 who possess their own herd number”.
Deputy Dillon said: “Regrettably, these young farmers are ineligible to participate in environmental schemes such as ACRES 2024.
“A consequence of this is that young farmers, particularly those in their twenties and thirties, remain excluded from such programmes for extended periods, without any clear timeline for their inclusion in initiatives such as ACRES.”
He asked Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar how Ireland could “continue to reduce our emissions if we do not allow young farmers, who represent the future of the agriculture sector, to participate in vital environmental schemes”.
In response the Taoiseach said that he was “not sure why the restrictions are in place” and would make inquiries with Minister McConalogue.
” It is important that we as a government encourage young farmers,” he added.