Latest news with #Agri-ClimateRuralEnvironmentScheme
Agriland
11-06-2025
- Business
- Agriland
DAFM: ‘Most complex' ACRES cases to be finalised this month
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has reiterated that the 'most complex' payment cases under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be dealt with this month. This is according to the latest update from the department which shows that a total of almost €494.8 million has been paid to ACRES participants as of Monday (June 9). Just under €246.3 million is in respect of participation in the Scheme in 2024, while almost €248.5 million relates to participation in 2023. ACRES is the €1.5 billion flagship agri-environmental scheme provided under Ireland's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027. However, the scheme has been the subject of intense criticism due to the delay in payments being issued to farmers. Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine Martin Heydon has previously expressed his frustration around the delays. ACRES According to DAFM, balancing payments in respect of participation in the ACRES scheme in 2024 commenced on May 15, 2025. The most recent payment run of June 6 paid €278,732 to a further 603 participants. This brought the total paid in balancing payments in respect of 2024 to almost €34.6 million, to 45,715 farmers. The department said that this means that almost 85% of all participants are up to date with payments. Advance payments, in respect of participation in the scheme in 2024, were made on June 9 to 37 farmers, with those payments amounting to €151,671.66. This payment run brought total 2024 Advance payments to almost €211.8 million, paid to 49,350 farmers, or over 91% of all ACRES participants. However, DAFM acknowledged that advance payments in respect of scheme participation in 2024 have still to be made to 4,680 ACRES participants across tranches 1 and 2. Of these 4,680 participants, 837 are also awaiting their balancing payment in respect of 2023, as that must be paid before the 2024 advance payment may be made to them. DAFM added that advance payments for 2024 will continue to be made on a weekly basis. Payments In relation to participation in ACRES in 2023, balancing payments were made to 112 farmers on June 9 totalling €91,130/ This brought the total paid in respect of participation in ACRES in 2023 to just under €248.5 million, paid to 43,955 participants, or over 98% of participants. A total of 837 farmers have yet to receive their final payments for 2023. Of these, 600 have already received an interim payment of either €4,000 or €5,000, respectively. The department said that in many instances, this will cover the entire amount of the payment due. DAFM said that it is continuing to progress the contracts awaiting final payment in respect of 2023 and/or advance payment in respect of 2024, 'with the most complex cases to be finalised in June 2025 at the latest'. Balancing payments in respect of participation in ACRES in 2024 have now commenced, the department added. Delays According to DAFM, the issues which are impacting 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 2024 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. 'The non-submission to date by participants, or by their ACRES advisors on their behalf, of certain returns also impacted on the making of advance payments to them in respect of 2024,' the department said.
Agriland
05-06-2025
- General
- Agriland
Scorecards for ACRES 2025 payments sent to advisors
Scorecards for lands for results-based payments under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) have been sent out to ACRES advisors this week. The department has also provided an updated version of the ACRES scorecard guidance document, which provides information to advisors on the way in which the lands concerned should be surveyed, and on the completion of the relevant scorecards. Advisors are being reminded that, for the scores submitted to be deemed valid and used in the determination of ACRES payments for 2025, they must be submitted by an approved ACRES advisor who has completed mandatory in-field scorecard training in 2025. Courses to provide this training are currently being provided, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said. There is also a specific introductory, basic scorecard training course being provided for those advisors who did not attend a mandatory ACRES scorecard training course in 2024 (for example, where an ACRES advisor has only been approved as such since summer 2024). When completing the Scrub/Woodland scorecard on the AgriSnap photo app, advisors should only select either section A1-S (Scrub) or A1-W (Woodland), depending on the habitat type present. Advisors should also ensure that only the relevant section is completed. Entering information in both sections A1-S (Scrub) and A1-W (Woodland) will result in an inaccurate score and subsequently a delay in payments to farmers. All scorecards – both Co-operation Project (CP) results-based scorecards and scorecards for general actions – for each holding must be submitted within 14 days of initiating the first scorecard. The last day for submission of all scorecards to the department is August 31 each year, according to the specifications of the ACRES programme. Once an ACRES scorecard has been submitted in full, it will not be possible to make further changes to the scorecard and it cannot subsequently be amended. Advisors are being told that it is therefore essential that they are 'fully satisfied' that scorecards are correct at the time of submission.
Agriland
28-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Minister: ‘September at the latest' for ACRES NPI payment system
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has said that it will be 'September at the latest' before the payments system for non-productive investments (NPIs) is ready under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES). Under ACRES, farmers in the Co-operation Project (CP) section of the scheme can undertake NPIs to enhance their payments. NPIs are small-scale environmental actions available to farmers in the ACRES CP which support nature-friendly management of farms. NPIs are applied for on behalf of farmers by their ACRES advisor as part of a NPI – Annual Works Plan (AWP). According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, completing approved NPIs allows a farmer to add to their ACRES payment by up to a maximum of €17,500 over the five-year period of their contract. There has been two application windows for farmers to apply for NPIs; one in 2023 and one last year in 2024. However, the payments system to support the submission of claims and the processing of payments in respect of approved NPI applications is not yet in place. The department had already said that the system would be in place in 2025. Minister Heydon, speaking at the first meeting of the new Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which took place today (Wednesday, May 28), indicated a target of September for that system to be in place. He told Fine Gael Clare TD Joe Cooney: 'The great focus has been getting people their basic [ACRES] payment first and foremost, getting their problems resolved on that. 'On the NPI payments then, the officials are working through on his, but we are making progress on that side, and hope to have them resolved as soon as possible over the summer, or September at the latest, in terms of getting them resolved, and getting payments through on them,' Minister Heydon added. ACRES was one of the main topics that came up at today's committee meeting, the other top issues for TDs and senators being TB and the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Other topics that featured were the nitrates derogation, GAEC (Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition) 2; and the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement. This was the minister's first appearance at the Oireachtas agriculture committee in his role as the senior department minister. Minister Heydon's previous appearances at the committee, in its previous iteration before the general election last year, were in his then role as minister for state with responsibility for new market development, farm safety, and research and development. This was the first meeting of the current committee, post-general election, where it carried out its role of scrutinising the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the ministers responsible for it. As the first meeting, it had somewhat of an introductory tone, serving as a way for the committee to get off the ground for the new Dáil term and begin its formal engagement with the minister. One member of the committee, senator Victor Boyhan, said: '[Minister Heydon] indicated that he wanted a fresh start, a new relationship with agriculture, with stakeholders, and with us as committee members, so I think that's encouraging.'
Agriland
21-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
ACRES payment delays ‘source of great frustration' for Heydon
The Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine Martin Heydon has expressed his frustration around payment delays for farmers in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES). The minister was responding to a question in the Dáil last evening (Tuesday, May 20) from Fianna Fáil TD Albert Dolan about the reason for the delay in payments. 'Not a week goes by in which I do not have a farmer in east Galway contacting my office regarding the delays to ACRES payments. 'What has gone so wrong with ACRES payments? Why has there been such a delay? What lessons will be learned to ensure this does not happen again?' Deputy Dolan said. ACRES is the €1.5 billion flagship agri-environmental scheme provided under Ireland's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027. ACRES Minister Heydon said that 'payments in respect of farmers' participation in the ACRES scheme continue to issue on a weekly basis as cases pass all validation checks'. 'Last week, I announced that balancing payments in respect of the 2024 scheme year have commenced with more than €33 million issuing to 42,444 participants. 'A total of €490 million has issued since ACRES payments commenced at the end of 2023,' he said. 'However, I am acutely aware that others are still awaiting payments. This is a source of great frustration for me. I have been dealing with it since the minute I assumed this role. 'In the case of the 2023 scheme year, 97% of participants have been paid in full. As regards 2024, 90% of participants have received their advance payments and almost 88% of these have now received a balancing payment,' the minister added. Heydon said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is 'committed to resolving the issues that have been delaying the remaining payments as soon as possible and is making progress in this regard'. 'I know that is cold comfort if you are one of the few who still have not been sorted. We have made significant progress and built momentum, which I continue to do,' he said. Payments Deputy Dolan told the minister that it is important to show farmers that if they sign up for a scheme they need to be assured of payment on time. Minister Heydon said that when he took office it was not acceptable to him to 'meet so many farmers where in many instances, the fault was with the department'. 'In some instances it was with themselves for various reasons but in the majority of cases, it has been on our side. 'I have visited Johnstown Castle and have engaged directly with the officials. I have directed additional resources into the units. 'I have got down into the detail of the different cohorts and how they are affected. 'One reason it takes time to fix this is that I am not willing to have a quick fix that needs a manual intervention every year. 'I want to make sure that the resolution here means that this problem does not recur every year. That is why we are getting through this and I stick to the commitments I made previously to resolve this as quickly as possible,' he said.
Agriland
19-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
DAFM issued over €37.5m in scheme payments last week
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) paid out over €37.5 million in scheme payments to farmers last week. The vast majority of the payments, over €34 million, were made under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES). This figure includes balancing payments in respect of participation in ACRES in 2024 worth €33.2 million paid to 42,444 participants. These payments bring the amount paid to farmers for ACRES to almost €490 million since the agri-environmental scheme commenced in January 2023. DAFM The data, published by the department, also shows that €1.8 million was paid out last week under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS). €1.7 million was paid to farmers in TAMS 3, while an additional €85,000 was paid out for TAMS 2. Around €64.6 million has now been paid out under TAMS 3 across 7,386 claims. There has been 28,316 TAMS 3 applications approved with over 9,366 payment claims submitted. The latest update also shows that a further €490,000 was paid last week for the 2024 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and Complimentary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS). This brings the total paid out to 119,436 farmers under these measures to €845 million. This figure includes the Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers (CISYF) at €38 million and the National Reserve (€3.2 million). An additional €550,000 was issued by the department to farmers under the 2024 Eco Scheme. €80,000 was paid out for the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) and Areas of Specific Constraint (ASC). The department issued over €250,000 to farmers participating in the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), bringing the total payout to €57 million to 4,742 farmers. DAFM also issued €139,000 under the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM), €86,000 for the Baling Assistance Payment (BAP), €4,000 under the Red Clover Scheme, and €5,400 to farmers in the Multi species Sward Scheme.
