Rural Development Council Report March 2025

1. Policy proposals for approval by National Council

N/A

2. Market Report (if relevant)

ACRES

• A total of €436 million has been paid (up to 5 March 2025) to ACRES participants.
• Advance payments in respect of 2024 totalling €188.9 million have now been paid to 43,822 farmers – 81% of all ACRES participants. 
• Of the above, 36,361 are Tranche 1 participants and 7,461 are Tranche 2 participants. 
• Advance payments in respect of scheme participation in 2024 have still to be made to 10,453 participants. Of these, 2,751 are also awaiting their balancing payment in respect of 2023, as that must be paid before the 2024 Advance Payment may be made to them. 
• Advance Payments in respect of 2024 will continue to be made every 10-14 days. The next pay run will take place in the week beginning Monday 17 March. 
• Payments in respect of 2023 totalling €247.1 million have been paid to 42,182 participants (25,322 General and 16,860 Co-operation), or 94 % of all ACRES Tranche 1 participants.
• A total of 2,751 farmers have yet to receive their final payments for 2023. Of these, 2,457 have already received an interim payment of either €4,000 or €5,000, respectively.  Processing of all of these cases continues. The next pay run will take place in the week beginning Monday 10 March.
• Some of the issues behind delayed payment include: Contract and ownership / partnership issues; Issues with scorecards (incorrect score, scorecards not submitted, alignment of scorecards with BISS data); Non-alignment of ACRES data with latest BISS information; DAFM IT issues; non-submission of LESS/Soil Sample; Rare Breed certification; non-completion of mandatory education requirements. 
• 2024 balancing payments are due to commence in late May 2025. 
• IFA continues to call on the Minister for Agriculture, Food & Marine to deliver an interim ACRES payment to all awaiting 2023/2024 payments, similar to that delivered in Spring 2024.

TAMS

• Payments under TAMS 3 have commenced and continue to issue on a weekly basis as claims are submitted in respect of completed investments
• Tranche 5 closed on 6^th December 2024, with 5,823 applications received. The Minister confirmed 100% of eligible applications will be approved under this tranche. 
• The Minister announced a ‘mini’ tranche support available to farmers in response to the unprecedented damage caused by Storm Éowyn. The specific items in respect of which applications will be accepted include;
  • Backup PTO Generators;
  • Sheep, Bovine and Equine Fencing;
  • Wood / Biomass Chippers; and
  • Mulchers.
• The 3-week tranche opened on 7 March and will close on Friday, 28 March 2025.
• Tranche 7, which will cater for all TAMS applications, will open immediately thereafter on 29 March and will close on 6 June 2025. 
• DAFM announced the opening of the new Nutrient Storage Scheme, offering a 60% grant rate for specific nutrient storage investments items (listed below), and will have a separate ring-fenced ceiling of €90,000.
• Main investments available at 60%:
• Manure Pit (60%)
• Mass Concrete Tank (60%), incl. precast tanks
• Circular Slurry Stores (60%)
• Geo Membrane Lined Store (60%)
• DAFM has issued 23,605 approvals under TAMS 3 to date, with 7,326 payment claims submitted.
• Payments have been made to 5,709 applicants, with a value of €50m.
• Following lobbying from IFA, DAFM confirmed at the latest Farmers Charter of Rights meeting that DAFM had commenced the process of updating their costings, likely to be implemented in Q4 2025. 

Direct Payments Update

• ANC advance payments (85%) commenced on Tuesday, 20^th September, with 15% following in early December.  To date, €247 million has been paid to 98,711 farmers. 
• The 70% advance payment under BISS was made on 17^th October, with 30% balancing payment commencing in early December. At present, €839m has been paid out to 118,991 farmers. Payments continuing weekly as they become clear, with 870 outstanding due to various reasons. 
• Eco-scheme advance payment (70%) paid on 21^st October, with 15% balancing payment following in December. 98% of farmers eligible now paid. Total of €303m issued to 118,085 farmers to date.
• Applications for BISS and other area related payments are now open. Deadline is 15^th May 2025. 
• As in previous years, DAFM will run 16 in-person clinics to assist farmers in making their applications. Dates/locations to be announced. 

3. Activity since last National Council
4. Meeting of Rural Development Committee in the Irish Farm Centre
5. Attended a Farmers Charter of Rights Monitoring Committee meeting in Portlaoise
6. Meeting with DAFM officials to discuss LEADER program
7. Meeting with Director of Agriculture Appeals Office re appeals process and establishment of Independent Appeals Panel 
8. Attended DAFM ACRES Review meeting in December
9. Online meeting with DAFM re implementation of GAEC-2
10. Attended Online CSP Monitoring Committee meeting re implementation of GAEC-2
11. Submission re ranking and selection (RAS) criteria for the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS)
12. Joint Online meeting with Rural Development, Hill & SAC Project Team re GAEC-2 
13. Letter to Minister Heydon re Urgent Delivery of Outstanding ACRES payments 
14. Letter to Minister Heydon re LESS requirements for farms stocked between 100 and 130kgs organic N
15. Meeting with Minister Heydon & Senior DAFM officials re GAEC-2 
16. Submission re CSP Annual Performance Report FY2024
17. IFA national meeting on policy threats to farming on peat soils

4. Any EU/COPA developments
5. IFA continues to participate on a number of COPA groups, relating to CAP, Direct Payments and Rural Development matters. 
6. The European Commission published the ‘Vision for Agriculture and Food’ on 19th February. 
7. IFA provided feedback to Copa-Cogeca re measures to support further CAP Simplification package.
8. The European Commission is expected to come out with two legislative initiatives re simplification in 2025:
   1. On 26^th February, the European Commission published its omnibus simplification package, which aims to reduce reporting burdens for companies. The package includes simplifications in sustainability reporting (CSRD), sustainability due diligence (CSDDD), and sustainable activity taxonomy (EU Taxonomy).
   1. A dedicated agriculture simplification package is expected to be published to Q2 2025. 

5. Upcoming issues
6. IFA has called on the Minister for Agriculture, Food & Marine to deliver an interim ACRES   payment to all awaiting 2023/2024 payments, similar to that delivered in Spring 2024.
7. IFA has called on DAFM to ensure all GAEC-2 impacted farmers are engaged directly and clearly aware of individual restrictions and parcels involved. 
8. COPA WP Future CAP work (Risk Management) on 21^st March 
9. COPA WP Future CAP work (consolidation of global reflexions) on 26^th March. 
10. The Rural Development Committee will meet on 30^th April in the Farm Centre.
11. The next Farmers Charter of Rights Monitoring Committee meeting will take place on 12^th June.
12. Ongoing assistance with scheme queries and farm payment/appeal issues.