Significant Financial Support for Irish Farmers Under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., has announced the continuation of balancing payments for participants in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) for the year 2023. This marks a significant step in supporting sustainable agricultural practices in Ireland.
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On June 27, 2024, Minister Charlie McConalogue announced the ongoing issuance of balancing payments for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) participants. These payments, totaling €4.3 million, will be distributed to 4,404 ACRES Tranche 1 participants across both the General and Co-operation approaches. Participants had previously received advance payments last November or interim payments of €4,000 or €5,000 in February and March of this year. With these balancing payments, the total disbursed to ACRES participants now exceeds €233 million.
Minister McConalogue highlighted the importance of these payments, stating, “ACRES balancing payments will continue to issue to participants on a fortnightly basis until all participants are paid for the scheme year 2023.” This systematic payment process ensures that all farmers receive their due support promptly.
To aid participants in understanding the payment calculations, the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine has published a series of information leaflets available on its website. Each recipient will also receive a detailed letter explaining the scores that determined their payment amounts.
Initial ACRES payments began in December 2023, with €88.35 million issued in advance to 19,719 ACRES General participants. Recognizing the scheme’s complexity, interim payments were made in early 2024, totaling €119.56 million. These payments included €4,000 for 6,917 ACRES General participants and €5,000 for 18,144 ACRES Co-Operation participants.
The most recent round of payments, amounting to €25.4 million, covers 31,081 participants. These payments will continue on a fortnightly basis as cases are processed and cleared, with ongoing engagement between the Department, farmers, and advisors to expedite the resolution of any outstanding issues.
ACRES operates through multi-functional prescription and results-based actions, where payment levels are tied to the quality of environmental outcomes achieved. Participants can earn a core payment of up to €7,000 per annum, with an additional €17,500 available over five years for Non-Productive Investments and Landscape Actions, bringing the potential contract value to €52,500 over five years.
This initiative is part of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which aims to ensure a stable food supply, safeguard farmers’ income, protect the environment, and maintain vibrant rural areas. Ireland’s national results-based scheme, with over 25% of agricultural land scored, supports over 54,000 farmers to achieve measurable environmental benefits over five years.
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