Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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162. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will clarify a query concerning the ACRES scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33177/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Agri-Climate Environment Scheme (ACRES) is Ireland’s flagship agri-environment scheme under the CAP Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027. It will pay farmers €1.5 billion over its lifetime. This is the largest sum ever committed to an agri-environment scheme in Ireland. Over 46,000 farmers were approved for entry to the scheme earlier this year.

A key feature of ACRES is the introduction of a results-based system that rewards farmers for committed environmental effort by linking payments to the quality of environmental outcomes delivered.

Participants in the ACRES eight Cooperation Project (CP) Zones will receive results-based payments, whereas those in the ACRES General stream could have chosen results-based actions on application. All of these lands will be scored over the summer months, by approved ACRES advisors, who have completed the mandatory in-field scorecard training. Scorecards are already being submitted by advisors daily.

As part of the specification for Tranche 1 of ACRES, all relevant parcels must be scored in-field and submitted by 31 August 2023. Farmers can use any approved ACRES advisor to submit these scorecards and my Department has developed a phoneapp (AgriSnap) to streamline the submission of scorecards in this regard.