Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Since the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, is present, I would like to ask question about the new agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES. For too long, we have penalised and docked payments for farmers for having bits of habitat on their land. For the first time ever, we have a proper agri-environmental scheme in ACRES that will actually reward farmers for working with biodiversity, with payments of over €10,000 in co-operation areas. Outside the co-operation areas there will be payments of up to €7,000 per farmer per year. At the moment, it is expected that only approximately 30,000 applicants will admitted into the scheme. However, some 46,000 farmers have applied to get into this scheme, which proves that farmers want to work with biodiversity and want to farm in an environmentally-friendly manner. I ask that the capacity of ACRES be increased and that we allow 46,000 farmers to participate in the scheme.

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