John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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109. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when outstanding farm payment issues under the ACRES scheme will be resolved; the steps being taken to ensure timely payments in future cycles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65229/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the important matter of the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, which is the flagship environmental scheme provided under the 2023-27 CAP strategic plan, with €1.5 billion in Exchequer and EU funding allocated over the course of the scheme. There are currently just under 53,700 participants in ACRES.

ACRES payments issue on a scheme year basis, with 2023 being the first scheme year for tranche 1 participants and 2024 being the first year for those who are in tranche 2. Almost €250 million has issued in respect of the 2023 scheme year, with over 99% of participants paid. A total of €268.4 million has issued in respect of the 2024 scheme year and over 98% have now received the payment. Finally, 2025 advance payments have now commenced, with €179.6 million issuing in the first two payment runs. These payments will bring the amount paid in respect of ACRES since its commencement in 2023 to almost €700 million. This reflects the Government’s commitment to achieving a range of environmental, biodiversity, water quality and climate objectives by supporting farm families in their environmental journeys.

ACRES is an ambitious and complex scheme, and there have been challenges as a result. We are overcoming those challenges through the commitment of all those involved in the scheme, including farmers themselves, ACRES advisers and the ACRES co-operation project teams. The main issues that have impacted on the making of payments have been identified and they include contract and ownership or partnership issues, issues with scorecards and the alignment of ACRES data with basic income support for sustainability, BISS, scheme information. My Department is actively resolving the remaining issues through, for example, the development of the required IT functionality and the investigation of issues associated with specific contracts.

In cases such as change of contract, my Department is unable to progress the payment claim until the legal requirements have been resolved. We are working through these issues. We have identified and addressed the issues that arose at the start and the system is functioning much better now. I am happy to expand further in my supplementary response.

John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his continuing engagement on this matter. As he knows, a lot of farmers in Cork North-West are involved in ACRES. I know the Minister inherited a lot these issues when he moved into his new role but he has made great strides to ensure that we are now up at over 90% in terms of payments for many of the schemes from 2023 and 2024.

ACRES is not just a scheme but a partnership between farmers and the State to protect our environment, enhance biodiversity, improve water quality and ensure that sustainable farming remains at the heart of rural Ireland. Across the country, farmers are delivering real, measurable benefits, planting hedgerows, restoring habitats, managing grasslands, reducing emissions and protecting our natural heritage for future generations but for farmers to continue this essential work, the Government must ensure that ACRES payments are made fully and on time each year. Farmers plan their finances around these payments. They rely on them to meet costs, invest in their holdings and deliver the environmental measures expected under the scheme. Delayed payments can create uncertainty, cause cash flow pressures and undermine confidence at a time when farmers are already facing rising input costs and increased regulatory demands.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I completely agree that it is important to get this right. When I got this job on 23 January, there were 14,500 farmers who had signed up in good faith but had not been paid. The problem was on my Department's side through systems failures that had happened. We worked really hard and put extra staff on it. I visited the team in Wexford. We looked at the systems and tried to change them around. There was a lot of overtime and a lot of people put their shoulder to the wheel to get the momentum back up.

At that time, no regular payments were being made but the issuing of payments has gathered considerable momentum this year, as knowledge and experience of the scheme has improved and as functionality has been deployed to address the challenges that were encountered. I appreciate the patience that has been shown by participants as we resolved these issues.

My Department has been developing solutions to solve issues permanently rather than applying quick fixes. It is really important that any solutions developed avoid the same issues and the very concerns that the Deputy has outlined. ACRES has paid out almost €700 million to farmers in this country since 2023. It is a really positive scheme that has delivered massively for our environment and that is what I want to get back to focusing on. We are in that space now.

John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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I very much concur with the Minister on the importance of having permanent solutions in place rather than temporary measures. That is very important. A few prepayments were made previously but getting permanent payments is what it is all about. Timely ACRES payments are not a luxury but a necessity. They uphold trust, recognise the efforts of farmers and allow the scheme to achieve its full environmental and economic potential. There is strong support for the scheme in the farming community of Cork North-West and I will continue to work with the Minister to push for a system that delivers payments swiftly, efficiently and predictably each and every single year.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Shea and colleagues across the House for their support as we worked through the challenges on ACRES. I am committed to having permanent fixes in place so that we can get back to talking about the good things that ACRES is delivering for our environment. More than 54,000 farmers are delivering more than 9,000 km of watercourse protection through buffer strips on areas adjacent to rivers, streams, lakes and wetland riparian zones. More than 500,000 native trees and more than 2,300 km of new hedgerows have been planted. The scheme has seen 14,000 barn owl nest boxes installed and 57,000 hectares of grassland left undisturbed to support overwintering geese and swans. These are the types of measure that are having a real impact and 54,000 farmers put their hands up for that additional environmental conditionality, proving that they can continue to produce top-quality food and supplement their incomes by taking measures that have made a real difference to their areas. That is what I want us talking about and focusing on in ACRES from next year onwards.

Again, I thank the Deputy for his support in this area.