Review of ACRES as Minister admits some farmers ‘received lower payments than expected’

The announcement from the Minister for Agriculture comes after much criticism from farmers and farm organisations about the scheme, including that it was overly complicated and farmers were left with payment delays .

The Minister said he was aware some farmers may have received lower scores, and therefore lower payments, than they might have expected. "Without compromising on environmental ambition, I have asked my department to review the experience with the scheme to date, and to consider whether it can work better for these participants."

He said the review, would look to "assess the options and identify ways of advancing the scheme to improve, in particular, the experience for those in CP who have a low score .

"I have asked my Department in that context to meet with farm organisations, FAS advisors and the CP teams to get their views, with a view to coming to a conclusion by the end of the year."

The Minister said it was timely to review the experience todate, as the Scheme approaches the end of its second year, "to identify what has worked well, and to consider areas where lessons can be learned for the future.

"In an overall sense, ACRES is working well for most farmers, and more than €247 million in payments have issued to participants since its inception.

"This is a scheme with high environmental ambition. I secured record funding for it, and ensured that all 55,000 farmers who applied were accepted into the scheme. This is 10pc more than was committed to.

"I have recently committed to examining whether a way can be found to facilitate newly qualified farmers in 2025.

"When it became apparent to me that some participants would experience payment delays , I approved an unprecedented interim payment. This meant that all farmers in the scheme were paid either an advance or interim payment by the end of March.

"This review aims to assess how we can improve farmers' experience of the scheme, ensure its environmental ambition is fully realised, and make sure that ACRES is working effectively for everyone".

In recent weeks the INHFA said the scheme, specifically ACRES Co-operation, has put a limit on environmental spending for some of Ireland's most environmentally conscious farmers.

INHFA President Vincent Roddy cited organic farmers and those farmers that had previously been part of the various EIPs and Locally Led Schemes as significant losers.

"Currently, Organic farmers in Co-operation areas will only receive an ACRES payment if their habitat scores are at eight or above, and even then, their payment is reduced — receiving €50 for a score of eight, €100 for a score of nine and €150 for a score of 10," he said.

"This compares to €300 for a score of eight if they were not in the OFS, a rate of €350 for a score of nine, with a score of 10 giving them a payment of €400."