Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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1712.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason the Agri online account of a farmer (details supplied) is showing a minus €5,000 in respect of the ACRES; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33207/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The person named submitted an application for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) and was approved into Tranche 1 of the scheme.

A decision was made to issue interim payments to those who had not received an advance payment in November 2023. The €5,000 referenced here reflects this interim payment, which it is intended will be offset against the final ACRES balancing payment for 2023. The amount as displayed on the AgFood account is recorded for technical purposes, until the ACRES balancing payment for 2023 is calculated.

The balancing payment claim associated with this herd has not yet cleared all validations. Department officials are actively examining the case to allow the payment to be made as quickly as possible. Should the ACRES payment due for 2023 to the person named exceed €5,000, they will receive the difference as their 2023 ACRES balancing payment.

If the ACRES balancing payment due is less than the interim payment received, the difference between the interim and balancing payment will be posted on their AgFood account as an ACRES overpayment, and the person named will receive a letter outlining their options for repayment in this regard.