Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As I announced on 12 October 2023, Tranche 2 of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be opening for the submission of applications shortly. Farmers and their ACRES advisors can now commence some of the associated preparatory work, namely, the submission of an Expression of Interest.

While the Terms and Conditions for Tranche 2 of ACRES are not yet published, an overview document in respect of ACRES Tranche 2 is currently available on my Department's website. This gives some key information on Tranche 2 in advance of the publication of the final Terms and Conditions for that Tranche. The document, together with other information in relation to ACRES, is available on the Department’s website at gov.ie - Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) (www.gov.ie).

As you will note from the overview document, one of the eligibility requirements for a farmer to participate in Tranche 2 of ACRES is the submission of a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application for 2022. A further requirement is that all lands must also be declared in the applicant’s 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application (and declared on the applicant’s BISS application for all subsequent years of participation).

While the person named applied for BPS in 2022, they had no land declared, therefore they could not be considered an active farmer under the eligibility requirements for that Scheme. As no land was declared and they were ineligible for BPS, they cannot be considered to have fulfilled the eligibility requirements for ACRES. In addition to this, as there was no land declared in 2022, it will not be possible to determine the appropriate ACRES stream (General or Co-operation) under Section 7.7 of the ACRES eligibility requirements.