ACRES Delays Need Urgent Action

IFA Hill Farming chair Caillin Conneely has called on Minister McConalogue to intervene and quickly remove whatever obstacles are withholding balancing ACRES payments to hill farmers and those in ACRES Co-Operation zones.

“We are getting more and more calls from frustrated farmers who are disillusioned with ACRES.  Many are giving serious consideration to leaving the scheme altogether. The scheme has fallen flat on its face and the blame lies with the Department.”

“Cashflow is becoming more and more an issue on farms. Farmers need their ACRES payments today, not whenever it suits the Department,” he said.

“We were told it was coming in May, then June, and more recently all would be sorted before end September. The goalposts keep moving to suit the Department, not the farmer. It’s just not good enough, and the timeline of backlog clearances doesn’t inspire confidence either. Over 10,000 farmers are still waiting on their balancing payments, and not many were paid in the last month. We need to see a serious clear-out of the backlog for the Department to meet their latest commitment,” he said.

“They need to devote whatever resources are needed to quickly sort out this mess. They need to engage with farmers so they know where they stand, and they must provide assurances that these ongoing delays will not have any consequences for advance 2024 Tranche 1 or Tranche 2 ACRES payments,” he said.

“Farmers entered the scheme in good faith; invested in planners and environmental actions; but many find themselves now not knowing where they stand, when they will get paid, or even if they have to pay back money.”

“The scoring seems to be extremely harsh on many commonages too, compounded by 100m exclusions around turbary activity. Given the calamity that is ACRES thus far, maximum flexibility should apply. The exclusion zone should be considerably reduced, and the Department needs to get their ship in order and deliver the ACRES scheme that was sold to farmers,” he said.

“We will be engaging with the Department seeking an urgent meeting of the Charter Monitoring Committee to get greater clarity and a speedy resolution,” he said.