An independent TD has said that farmers in parts of Co. Clare are worse off under the new Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
Deputy Michael McNamara told the Dáil today (Thursday, April 20) that some farmers with designated lands in the Burren and Slieve Aughty regions faired better under the BurrenLIFE and hen harrier projects.
The Clare TD described ACRES as a scheme “designed by civil servants for civil servants, not for farmers or the environment, but for ease of administration”.
ACRES
“In theory they [farmers in designated areas] get more money through the ACRES scheme.
“They can get an absolute maximum of €10,000 whereas farmers not in designated areas get an absolute maximum of €7,000, but the difference in the €3,000 is a partial reimbursement of monies already expended.
“The reality is that they are worse off now than they were under a government that claims to take the environment seriously,” McNamara said.
In response, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said that the BurrenLIFE project was a pilot scheme with a small number of farmers and more significant payments.
“What we are doing with ACRES now is we are broadening it out and bringing more people into that scheme. The vast majority of applicants that will be participating in the ACRES scheme in the Burren will be better off.
“There is a small number who would have been part of the initial pilot scheme whose payments would not be as high.
“It’s something I have my officials assessing to see if there is a particular accommodation that can be made in relation to those, but overall, what we are doing is building on the Burren scheme and making sure that the benefits of it are actually spread and widened and also making sure that more farmers are able to avail of it and get paid better,” the minister said.