Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As a newly elected TD, I wish Deputy Cleere the best of luck in the term ahead. I agree that challenges around ACRES are eroding confidence. It is my job to restore confidence in this system. I will do that by systematically ensuring the processes we put in place fix these problems once and for all and regain confidence in a scheme that has delivered almost €500 million to farmers since 2023. That is not an insignificant amount of money. ACRES is definitely paying a lot more than the previous scheme at a farmer level. Farmers are doing the work on that level.

On the Deputy's point on IT systems, we need to reflect on the design of schemes in the context of the next CAP and in the role I will have, as Minister, in Ireland's EU Presidency. When we get to the point that member states have autonomy and flexibility, we must examine how we design schemes, how complex we make them, how user-friendly they are for farmers and their advisers and what they deliver for the environment because they have to deliver. The results-based system does more in that regard. When we are designing this scheme we need to make sure we think it through to the end and ask how hard it will be to administer. Having 80,000 or 90,000 scorecards creates a lot of administration.

The IT teams are being worked extremely hard because we have designed new schemes. We want to maintain the existing CAP and the separate structure with two pillars. I made the point on Monday at the agriculture Council that we should not tear up the CAP completely. There is a need for stability and certainty for our farmers. The elements that work well are bedded in. We design all these new computer systems for certain schemes. We should not throw out the baby with the bathwater and change everything just for the sake of it. It is about getting the balance right.