Green Light for All ACRES Applicants the Right Move

IFA President Francie Gorman has welcomed confirmation from DAFM that all valid Tranche 2 ACRES applications will be accepted, and that there will be no impact on overall payment rates.

“This is a positive move by the Department. Given our climate ambition, leaving farmers out would have sent the wrong message. Getting all farmers who were interested into ACRES is something IFA has lobbied strongly on for some time,” he said.

IFA Rural Development chair John Curran said ACRES has been a complex and difficult scheme to administer, but the important thing today is that all 9,000 Tranche 2 applicants know where they stand, and they didn’t incur costs pulling together plans etc for no reason.

“With all the weather-related challenges and shortage of raw materials (especially native trees and hedgerows) to meet ACRES action deadlines, there may well need to be more flexibility and innovation from our Department officials,” he said.