Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge Deputy Flaherty’s advocacy on behalf of the sheep sector in advance of the budget last year. I think across the board we welcome the fact that we were able to deliver that €20 and the doubling from what it was a couple of years prior.

The decision to include all 46,000 applicants in ACRES was important. It was important to back all of those who applied last year to fully get in. It had been a feature between previous CAP programmes, coming out of REPS and into GLAS, for example, and the 1s, 2s, and 3s of those as well, that there were gap years in many cases, not just in the environmental schemes but also in the beef and sheep schemes. Over the end of the last CAP and over the transition years in 2021 and 2022, I wanted to make sure that everybody who wanted to stay part of those schemes was not locked out, and we succeeded in doing that, as well as getting all 46,000 in who applied last year.

We have brought a 50% increase overall in the Government contribution to this CAP, which is the highest increase the Government ever has made to the CAP. However, within that, it is not limitless. There are still limits to what that budget is and what that 50% can do. I take the Deputy’s point and I absolutely acknowledge his advocacy and desire to see all the applications who have applied for ACRES for the first time to be included. As things are though, the funding I have allows me to bring in 4,000. We agreed as part of the allocation of that 50% extra funding that the allocation for ACRES would be 50,000. That is a five-year commitment; it is not just a matter of a one-year commitment. I would like to see them in as well and I will certainly work to continue to try to make progress.

In respect of this year’s funding, we have funding for 4,000. However, we will have a budget coming up at the end of the year and we will be looking at things as the year goes on as well. The approval I have as part of our CAP strategic plan and our five-year plan is for 50,000 participants overall, but I acknowledge and share the Deputy’s desire and objective in that regard.