Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The person named is among those in the ACRES Co-operation Project stream awaiting payments.

As the Deputy will be aware, my officials are continuing the processing of further ACRES payments, following their commencement last December 2023.

This is taking more time to complete than originally anticipated. Therefore, I have decided to make an interim payment to all ACRES participants, both General and Co-operation Project, who have not yet received their advance payment for 2023. Further details will be provided in the coming days. I intend to deliver this payment by the end of February.

Intensive work will continue on the calculation of the full payments due to farmers under ACRES, and when this work is completed, the final payments issued to farmers will take into account the interim payments already made to the relevant participants.

Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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490. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will intervene in the case of issues concerning a 2023 basic income support for sustainability, BISS, application by farmers (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6310/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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A BISS and other area-related schemes application was submitted by an agent on behalf of the herdowners on the 29th of May 2023. Four land parcels were included on this application. An amendment was submitted on the 29th of September 2023, requesting the addition of a number of further parcels to the application.

The closing date for receipt of applications was the 31st of May 2023, and under the terms and conditions of the scheme, amendments to applications, including the addition of parcels/plots, may be made online up to 14 June 2023 (without a penalty), and up to 23rd of June with a 1% per day penalty. However, any parcels added after the 23rd of June attract 100% reduction, in effect they are not eligible for payment. As the amendment was received after the 23rd of June the parcels were added to the application, however they are not eligible for payment.

A letter issued to the applicants on the 1st of February advising them of this and providing them with a right of appeal to the independent Agricultural Appeals Office.