Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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859. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on an ACRES payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2313/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The person named was accepted into Tranche 1 of the General stream of ACRES, and received payments totalling €4,882.05 in respect of the 2023 scheme year.

My Department has been in regular contact with the herdowner in relation to outstanding payments for the Wild Bird Food action on this contract. This action was not paid as the applicant initially had a zero claimed area on the parcel in question on the 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS) application. This has since been amended on BISS, and ACRES officials have advised the person named that this will be corrected in our financial reconciliation process.

I can advise that the ACRES advance payment in respect of 2024 has not yet issued as further validation checks are required. My Department is actively working to progress these checks as a matter of urgency (as is the case with all EU co-funded schemes, all ACRES applications must pass regulatory controls and validations before payment can issue).

I can assure you that everything is being done to pay, as soon as possible, all ACRES participants who clear pre-payment checks.