Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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2241. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action his Department are taking to improve and accelerate IT capabilities in his Department in order to enhance systems and to avoid payment delays, as experienced by ACRES applicants in the current CAP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44136/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Since the implementation of EU regulations requiring that all applications for direct payments must be received electronically by 2018, my Department has implemented a programme of continuous development and improvement of its application systems. An example of one such improvement is the warning messages to help farmers and advisors where common errors have been detected.

These have expanded significantly over the years, to the extent where the vast majority of schemes can now be applied for through a single portal.

In addition, my Department engages continuously with advisors and farmers to assist them in making applications for schemes and funding through training events, webinars and in-person information meetings, provision of material, YouTube videos and one-to-one clinics. My Department also uses SMS text messages where farmers are registered to receive them from the Department to alert them to opening and closing dates.

As an example, applications for direct payments schemes such as BISS, CRISS, Eco-Schemes and ANC opened on target in February 2025 and the closing date for applications was 15th May 2025 in line with previous years. This provided ample opportunity for farmers and/or their advisors on their behalf to make their applications before the closing date.

The Department’s IT infrastructure is and will continuously be upgraded as required.