Majority of ACRES balancing payments expected by September’s end
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. has provided an update on the progress of ACRES payments already made and those for issue over the coming period.
Acknowledging the delays that have been experienced in the processing of payments for farmers who joined ACRES in Tranche 1 and, in particular, for those 8,636 farmers who are awaiting their balancing payment, the Minister said: “This scheme, with its scale, ambition and complexity, has presented challenges in terms of meeting the payment timelines envisaged at the time of its launch.”
Payments made to date
Reflecting on payments issued, the Minister said: “By the middle of March this year, virtually all ACRES participants (44,780) had received either an 85% advance payment, or a flat rate interim payment of either €4,000 or €5,000.
“Some 19,719 of these had received their advance payment between November and February, with the remainder (25,061) receiving interim payments by mid-March. These interim payments represented the majority of, or in some cases exceeded, the total ACRES payments due for the year.
“At this stage, 36,410 farmers, or 82% of participants, have also received their final balancing payment, adjusted, where appropriate, to account for the interim payment. This brings payments to date in respect of the first year of the Scheme to €241 million.”
Expected payment dates
Minister McConalogue confirmed that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is at present finalising the calculations for the 8,646 participants who have received an advance or interim payment, but have not yet received the final balancing payment for year 1 of the Scheme.
“I have been working closely with the ACRES team to ensure that a plan is in place to ensure that these are finalised as soon as possible. I expect payments to be completed in respect of 95% of all ACRES participants by the end of September,” Minister McConalogue added.
Payment rates
Payment rates under ACRES for the 36,410 farmers who have received their full payment to date were also disclosed, with the Minister adding: “The average total payment for ACRES General participants has been €5,200 and the average total core payment for those in the Cooperation stream has been €5,100, which is broadly in line with projections at the outset of the scheme.
In relation to payments that will issue over the coming period, the Minister said: “For farmers participating in the Cooperation stream, there remains an additional €17,500 maximum available for draw down from Non-Productive Investments (NPIs), Landscape Actions (LAs) and the Landscape Bonus. Approvals for the NPI applications already received will issue before the end of 2024, with a new round of NPI applications opening on 17 September.”
Future payments
On payments for year two of the scheme, Minister McConalogue said: “All in my Department are determined to ensure that the challenges experienced with administering year one of the scheme are resolved for year two.
“Work is progressing to ensure the effective delivery of 2024 advance payments for both Tranche 1 and 2 ACRES participants. These payments will commence by the end of November, 2024.
“ACRES has the highest level of funding available of any environmental scheme ever run by the Department. I ensured that all applicants were accepted into both tranches, which has resulted in almost 55,000 farmers now participating in the scheme,” Minister McConalogue said.
Concluding, Minister McConalogue said: “ACRES is an environmental scheme that is unprecedented in the scale of its ambition, and it has enormous potential to deliver significant long-term dividends for farmers and for the environment. I look forward to the remaining year one balancing payments being significantly resolved this month, and to both Tranche 1 and 2 payments proceeding according to committed timelines for 2024.”