There have been delays to the processing of payments for farmers who joined ACRES in Tranche 1 and, in particular, for the 8,636 farmers who are awaiting their balancing payment. Acknowledging this, 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.
“By the middle of March this year, virtually all ACRES participants (44,780) had received either an 85 per cent 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 per cent 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.”
He said the DAFM is currently 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 one 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 per cent of all ACRES participants by the end of September.”
He said that of the 36,410 farmers who have received their full payment to date, the average total payment for ACRES General participants has been €5,200 and the average total core payment for those in the ACRES 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 September 17.
“All in my department are determined to ensure that the challenges experienced 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,” he said.