Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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177. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will review a matter (details suppled); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55486/23]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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179. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments will issue to farmers in the agri-climate rural environment scheme for the cooperation project stream considering that participants believed they would be paid in late November; the reason for the delay in payments issuing; how many participants are impacted by his Department's delay and provide figures for same, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55496/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 177 and 179 together.

In line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, a flagship environmental scheme, namely, the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), was launched last year. There was exceptional demand for entry into the Scheme, which demonstrates the interest of farmers to take on actions to address climate, biodiversity and environmental issues.

While it was initially planned to take in applicants in two Tranches, with 30,000 in Tranche 1, a decision was made by the Government to accept all valid applications submitted, and there are now just under 46,000 farmers actively involved in the Scheme.

The burden of developing brand new administration and IT systems to accept all 46,000 applicants has put significant pressure on the ability to pay all participants in 2023.

Officials have been working to expedite payments, but with the unprecedented numbers, it has not been possible to get all participants paid in ACRES by the year end. Payments will commence on December 18^th with two thirds of all ACRES General participants in the final stages of being processed for payment in the initial payment run. Due to the additional complexity associated with the Co-operation Project (CP) stream, payments for ACRES CP participants are being progressed and will begin to issue in February 2024.

Everything is being done to pay, as soon as possible, all ACRES participants who clear pre-payment checks.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) provides grants to farmers to build and/or improve a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holdings. There is an indicative budget of €370 million available for the period 2023-2027, and all investments must be linked to Climate, Environment or Animal Welfare.

Overall, the scheme has proved very popular. Tranche 1 of TAMS 3 closed on 30 June 2023, with 8,241 applications received across ten separate investment measures (almost four times the average number received per tranche under TAMS 2). Applications received across all of the measures in Tranche 1 are currently being processed. Once the initial processing is completed, all applications are subject to a ranking and selection process, which is a regulatory requirement for all TAMS 3 applications.

To assist farmers that required the construction of slurry and manure storage facilities, or urgent animal welfare-related investments for the winter of 2023/2024, I provided a priority access facility, and all applications received under this facility have now been assessed. Approvals have now issued to 252 of these eligible priority access cases, and my Department has also been in contact with farmers where there is a query on their application in order to resolve the query before approval can issue.

Non-priority approval letters for Tranche 1 applications have now commenced, starting with the Solar Capital Investment Scheme. It is anticipated that the majority of approvals under Tranche 1 will issue by April 2024.

To address the issue where approval is required urgently, my Department is putting in place a mechanism that will allow applicants or their advisors who have an urgent need to commence works to contact their Department of Agriculture local office. Their application will then be assessed to determine if there is an urgent need to issue approval, and prioritised accordingly.

More than 50% of all investments under Tranche 1 are in respect of mobile equipment. Applicants may purchase the mobile equipment, at their own risk, subject to verification of eligibility in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the relevant schemes.

I also announced previously that 100% of eligible applications under tranche 1 of TAMS 3 will be approved for funding, which is in keeping with my commitment to assist farmers to address animal welfare, climate and sustainability targets.

Finally, I can confirm that, as announced earlier this week, Tranche 2 of TAMS 3 will close on Friday 15 December at 5pm. Tranche 3 of the scheme will open on Monday 18 December and close Friday 12 April 2024 at close of business. This will ensure that applications received since the tranche opened in July can be proceeded with as efficiently as possible, and to ensure that those who need to carry out works in a timely manner in 2024 can be processed, including by according them the necessary priority.