Action on ACRES Delays Needed Urgently – IFA
IFA Hill Farming Chair Caillin Conneely has called on the Minister for Agriculture to act quickly and remove the barriers which are withholding balancing ACRES payments to hill farmers and those in ACRES Co. Operation Zones.
Mr. Conneely began his statement by expressing the seriousness of the issues caused by payment delays in the ACRES scheme for many farmers across the country.
“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.”
He continued by criticising the approach by the Department to the scheme where deadlines are continually changing to suit the agenda of the Department of Agriculture with little consideration for the farmers who have been left waiting for their payments.
“We were told it was coming in May, then June, and more recently all would be sorted before the end of 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,” the Hill Farming Chair said.
Finally, Caillin Conneely stressed the urgency of finding a solution to these payment delays in order for the Department to restore the good faith of farmers who invested in the scheme.
“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,” said Mr. Conneely
“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 concluded
