A total of over €517.2 million has been paid to date to Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) participants.

Almost €267.7 million is in respect of participation in the scheme in 2024, while over €249.5 million relates to participation in 2023, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said in an update.

Processing of payments continues on a weekly basis across all scheme years and tranches, DAFM said.

Delay in issue of payments

The department said the issues which have impacted on the making of payments in respect of each year are primarily:

Contract and ownership / partnership issues;
Issues with scorecards (incorrect score, scorecards not submitted, alignment of scorecards with data from the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme - BISS);
Alignment of ACRES data with BISS information.

"The department is actively resolving the remaining issues through, for example, the development of the required IT functionality and the investigation of issues associated with specific contracts," DAFM said.

"The non-submission to date by participants, or by their ACRES advisers on their behalf, of certain returns also impacted on the making of advance payments to them in respect of 2024.

"Farmers and advisers are encouraged to submit, as soon as possible, any outstanding documentation that will allow the department to progress and complete their claims as soon as possible."

The department said that advance payments in respect of 2025 are scheduled to commence in November.

Funding for ACRES is set to increase by €20 million next year to reach €280 million, as confirmed in the recent budget announcement.

Last year, there was a €60 million increase in funding for ACRES announced as part of Budget 2025.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said that ACRES "provides an important income support and underpins environmental action on farms".