Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That is okay. We probably need four hours or four months on ACRES. Throughout last year, the processing of 3,000 outstanding cases for the 2023 payments was moving very slowly. After the general election was called, the then Minister insisted that ACRES payments were on track for a late November payment. On 5 September, it was suggested on the website of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine that 95% of farmers could expect to be paid their ACRES balancing payments by the end of September. That did not happen. Those payments were set aside. A payment run was done for tranche 1, comprising those who joined in 2023. Just 60% of those received a payment for 2024. We can add to the mix around 9,000 farmers who joined tranche 2 of ACRES in 2024, one third of whom have yet to be paid.

The other problem is that if you have a query in relation to your file, you cannot ring the ACRES section. Instead, you have to email that section. This is usually replied to with a generic email which states that the Department is processing payments and will be in touch in due course. This is not good enough. Unlike other schemes like the basic income support for sustainability, BISS, scheme and the areas of natural constraint, ANC, scheme, farm advisers do not have access to ACRES payments. They do not have this with ACRES. They have no access to payments or issues relating to files. Why is this the case? This has to be changed immediately. They must have access to what is going on.

I need to know today that all outstanding payments for 2023 and 2024 will be made immediately because these funds are badly needed for each farm household. The Department upholds a very rigid set of deadlines that farmers have to adhere to or penalties will issue. However, there is no issue with the Department missing deadline after deadline when it comes to the processing and payment of ACRES payments.

The Department needs to be more proactive in contacting farmers. There always seems to be a technical issue on the other side. The farmer and the adviser are left in limbo wondering if it is something on their side, but more often than not it is not something on their side; it is something to do with this famous glitch. We have to sort out what this glitch is. This is landing on his table now because farmers' confidence in ACRES is absolutely on the floor as we speak.

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