Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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585. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 507 of 27 June 2023, if he will provide specific scoring deadlines across all ACRES streams; if he will clarify if within the co-operation project stream there are different scoring deadlines for Department-hired advisors and privately hired advisors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34306/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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For the avoidance of any doubt, I wish to reiterate that all ACRES participants are subject to the same scoring timelines. The deadline for the submission of scorecards is 31 August, 2023. I also wish to clarify that there are no “Department-hired” advisors. The ACRES participant chooses their own advisor at the time of application. That advisor must be approved by my Department, having completed ACRES training and satisfied other requirements.

Scorecards are being submitted daily by approved ACRES advisors, who have access to a Department developed mobile phone app, AgriSnap, to streamline the submission of scorecards.

Scoring of land at the correct time of the year is an integral part of the results-based payment model and is essential to ensure the correct payment rate is assigned to the land in question. It is essential that all lands are scored by 31 August 2023 to ensure the best period for scoring and so that payments can be delivered commencing in November 2023.