Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1168. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the ACRES payment will be issued (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56419/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As the deputy is aware, and in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government, the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) was launched in 2022 as the flagship environmental scheme under the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027.

While it was initially planned to take 30,000 applicants in Tranche 1 of the scheme, all valid applications submitted were accepted. There are now just under 46,000 farmers in Tranche 1 actively involved in the Scheme. This decision to accept all applicants into Tranche 1 of ACRES has put significant pressure on the ability to pay all eligible participants in 2023.

On 15 December I announced that ACRES General Payments had commenced, with 17,145 farmers being paid a total of €76.5 million. As I have already indicated, due to the additional complexity associated with the Co-operation Project (CP) stream, payments for ACRES CP participants will begin to issue in February of this year.

In response to requests for advance payments, it is important for budgetary and audit purposes, and for farmers themselves, that the correct payment is made at the outset. A once-off or interim payment is not an alternative, as it would undermine the integrity of the ACRES payment system, and any such expenditure would not meet the standards required to access EU funding in accordance with the new performance reporting obligations under Ireland's 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan.

I want to reassure the deputy that everything is being done to pay all ACRES applicants who clear pre-payment checks as a matter of priority.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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All organic farmers must be registered with either of the two organic control bodies, and be in possession of a valid organic licence, in order to qualify for grant payments under the Organic Farming Scheme. Organic Farmers must hold a valid organic licence on or before the date of the submission of their Organic Farming Scheme application or, at the latest, hold a licence from the commencement date of their contract.