The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has today (Wednesday, March 1) confirmed that all valid applications for the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) have been accepted.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), over 46,000 applications were received under Tranche 1 of the new €1.5 billion agri-environment scheme.

However, funding for just 30,000 places was made available as part of Budget 2023 for the first round of applications. A further 20,000 places have been allocated to the scheme under Tranche 2.

Minister McConalogue has today announced that “all valid applications submitted for ACRES will be accepted into the scheme in 2023”.

“ACRES applicants will hear further from my department, in the coming days, as the formal approval letters are issued.

“The message for now is that farmers should wait until they receive their letters before contacting either the department or their advisor,” he said.

ACRES

The new results-based agri-environmental scheme is divided into two streams.

The ACRES general approach is available to farmers nationally and has a maximum annual payment of up to €7,311.

Farmers located in defined ‘high priority’ areas will be able to apply for the ACRES co-operation approach where they could receive up to €10,500 in a given year.

An approval summary, which will show where actions have been mapped on the participant’s farm, will be sent to ACRES participants by the end of March.

They will also get a species identification booklet to help identify the indicator species on their land to be used in the scoring process.

Due to the higher-than-anticipated number of participants, access to the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) for ACRES applicants will be made available on a gradual basis over the next few weeks as their approval letters are issued.

This process is expected to be completed by the end of March.

St. Patrick’s Day /Coillte forestry Minister for Agriculture
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue

Commenting on today’s announcement, Minister McConalogue said:

“Farmers have shown that they are ready and willing to play their part and both I and the government are backing those ambitions.

“I want to harness that enthusiasm and deliver the maximum possible environmental benefit.

“It will be challenging, and it will require intensive and focused effort from all concerned – from my Department, from advisors, from Co-operation Project Teams and from farmers – but I look forward to working with everyone to achieve that objective,” he said.

BISS

The minister also announced that the application process for the new Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) as well as other area-based schemes, is now open.

Farmers will receive information in the post in the coming days containing their BISS maps and land details for 2023.

They will also be sent information on the new schemes, the Area Monitoring System and a guide to staying healthy, safe, and well while farming.

The minister said with the range of new schemes being introduced, it is important for farmers and advisors to be aware of the following delivery dates:

  • The closing date for BISS applications, will be midnight on Monday, May 29, 2023;
  • The advance payment dates for Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC), BISS, Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS) and the Eco-scheme, are expected to commence in October 2023;
  • The dates for balancing payments and payments for other schemes, are expected to commence in December 2023.

The online systems for transferring Payment Entitlements, and for applying for the National Reserve (Young Farmer and New Entrant) and Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (the new Young Farmers’ Scheme) will open in mid-March 2023.

The minister said that the department will also be running a series of public webinars, in-person information sessions and farmer clinics on the new schemes.