Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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137. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to concerns raised by farmers regarding the ACRES scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53081/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is the agri-environment climate measure which forms part of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027.

ACRES is the third ‘layer' in the Green Architecture model under the new Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and is a voluntary scheme whereby farmers, when approved into the Scheme, undertake certain actions on their land for at least five years – with those actions going beyond conditionality and the voluntary eco-scheme.

ACRES is farmer-friendly and well-funded scheme that will provide an important income support to our farm families while also achiveing tangible environmental improvements.

Farmers may apply for one of the approaches available under ACRES, namely the ACRES General approach or the ACRES Co-operation approach depending on the location of their holding. Using a habitats-based approach, delivered through both prescription and results-based actions, ACRES will contribute to improving biodiversity, climate, air, and water quality outcomes.

The Government has committed €1.5 billion to the Scheme. The payment rates are attractive, with a maximum annual payment of up to €7,311 to a participant in ACRES General while a participant in the ACRES Co-operation approach could receive up to €10,500 in a given year.

One of the requirements of the Scheme is that applications, and the accompanying Farm Sustainability Plan, must be prepared and submitted by an approved ACRES advisor. The rates such advisors charge their clients for this work is a matter for the farmer and his/her advisor.

ACRES is now fully open and receiving applications every day. To assist farmers, there was an online farmer information meeting. There are also webinars and tutorials available on the Department's social media platform for advisors to access and view as and when required.

Each approved ACRES advisor will work with their clients to choose the most appropriate actions for their holding, with a view to maximising payments and to ensure these actions are in the most appropriate locations.

Participation in the scheme is voluntary and participants may be subject to inspection as required by EU regulations. The fee for the preparation and submission of the application and accompanying Farm Sustainability Plan is a matter for the farmer and his/her advisor.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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138. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide clarity to farmers regarding the ACRES scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53082/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is a voluntary scheme whereby farmers, when approved into the Scheme, undertake certain actions on their land for at least five years.

ACRES is a well-funded and farmer-friendly scheme that will provide an important income support to farmers while also drive tangible environmental improvements.

Those actions have been designed to contribute significantly to achieving improved biodiversity, climate, air and water quality outcomes. The Government has committed €1.5 billion to ACRES over its duration, which will facilitate the participation of 50,000 participants in ACRES overall.

The Scheme is open to active farmers aged over 18 years of age who have submitted an application under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in 2021 and declared the land being brought into ACRES in their BPS application in 2022. Details about eligibility for, and the core requirements of, the Scheme are available in the Scheme Terms and Conditions on the Department’s website.

An eligible farmer may apply for one of the approaches available under ACRES, namely the ACRES Co-operation approach available to farmers in eight defined high priority geographical areas, or the ACRES General approach which is available nationally outside of the eight ACRES Co-operation zones. A farmer may only apply for one of the approaches, eligibility for which will be determined by the location of their holding.

It is currently envisaged that the breakdown of the overall 50,000 participants will be 30,000 in ACRES General and 20,000 in ACRES Co-operation – this will, however, be ultimately subject to the level of interest in each approach. The intake into the scheme is phased, with at least two tranches, to spread the workload on advisors.

There is a maximum annual payment of up to €7,311 available to a participant in ACRES General while a participant in the ACRES Co-operation approach may receive up to €10,500 in a given year, with the contracts in both approaches to be for a minimum of five years.

An applicant is required to engage an approved ACRES advisor to prepare and submit the ACRES application on behalf of an applicant, with a Farm Sustainability Plan (FSP) to accompany such application.

The Department provided an Information Webinar on ACRES for farmers on the evening of 16^thSeptember 2022, a recording of which is available on the Department’s website. Information was also provided on ACRES at the Department’s stand at the National Ploughing Championship in September.

The ACRES system was opened on 17th October 2022 for the submission of applications under Tranche 1. The closing date for the submission of applications under the current Tranche is on Monday 21st November 2022.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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139. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the budgetary measures that are affecting suckler beef and sheep farmers under Budget 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53122/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The budgetary provision for my DepartmentiIn 2023 is €2.14 billion, the highest ever level of funding for the Department, and represents an increase of €283m on the 2022 provision, or a 13% increase overall, to support farmers, fishers, and rural and coastal communities.

I plan to introduce a new scheme to continue the beef welfare measures which were previously funded under BEEP-S. This new scheme will sit alongside the new €150/cow Suckler Carbon Efficiency Scheme which builds on the BDGP and BEEP-S schemes targeting efficiency gains, and a €20 million Sheep Improvement Scheme, which aims to build on the progress made by the Sheep Welfare by providing support for actions that improve animal health and welfare in the sheep sector.

I have maintained the budget for targeted beef and sheep supports of over €100 million. Beef and sheep farmers will also be well placed to benefit from the enhanced supports for fodder aid, and a number of other support schemes, including for example the ACRES scheme, and the Organics Scheme.

I am also providing €5 million in support for a continuation of the dairy beef calf scheme in 2023.

Another significant support for the beef and sheep sectors is the enhanced support for early-stage producer organisations in the incoming CAP Strategic Plan which, in addition to providing administrative and advisory support of up to €33,000 to groups, provides under competition law for collective bargaining on output prices thereby strengthening their position in the supply chain.

However, I am, acutely aware of the pressures being faced across the agri-food sector due to the increase in input costs. Since the invasion of Ukraine, I have taken a proactive approach to dealing with the massive challenges arising for the agri-food and fisheries sector, including providing €91 million in exceptional supports for the sector.

Central to this is the €56m Fodder Support Scheme which pays farmers up to €1,000 for saving hay and silage. The scheme will be in plact for the 2023 fodder-making season too.