Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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158. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address the situation whereby active turbary/turf-cutting areas on commonage lands were incorrectly mapped or missed entirely during the first ACRES scoring survey; if he will instruct his Department to amend the maps to correctly reflect the evidence on the ground; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66684/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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ACRES includes results-based payments to participants in the Scheme's 'Co-operation' approach and in respect of certain actions in its 'General' approach.

Approximately 1.1 million hectares of land has been assessed and scored, representing 25% of all agricultural land, and including over 400,000 hectares of commonage.

The relevant parcels and commonage lands to be assessed and scored for the purposes of results-based payments were specified by ACRES participants at the time of application.

Ten scorecards were developed by my Department, in conjunction with the ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) Teams, to facilitate the assessment and scoring of lands.

The scorecards include positive indicators such as plant species, vegetation structure and wetness. They also include threats and pressures such as exposed soil, and damaging activities, such as turbary activity. These scorecards also capture management advice to improve the habitat, allowing farmers to improve the score and, ultimately, their payments.

As regards the assignment of the commonage scorecards, the boundaries of the scorecards were set based on a walkover in year one of the Scheme.

The Department was very conscious that active turf-cutting could potentially have a disproportionate impact on commonage scores, particularly if the commonage is scored as one field and there is a high level of active peat cutting and associated works.

That is why my Department, together with the CP Teams, developed a protocol for the CP teams to ensure that turbary and non-turbary areas were assessed separately. This protocol maintains the environmental integrity of ACRES - and the environmental integrity of the wider CAP Strategic Plan, which is paramount - while also ensuring that ACRES participants are not unduly penalised for active turbary carried out by third parties.

As the boundaries of the scorecards were set based on a walkover in Year one of the Scheme, it is not possible to redraw scorecard boundaries in commonage in subsequent years where new turbary activity takes place or where turbary activity has expanded without undermining the environmental integrity of the scheme, as the scoring system is set to disincentivise expansion of active turbary areas.

It should be noted that there is a review process in place in relation to the scoring of commonage, with the procedure in relation to that review process, and associated forms, available on my Department’s website.