ACRES: MEP says delays 'eroding trust' in all schemes
An Irish MEP has said that the prolonged delay in processing payments under the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) "continues to erode the trust and confidence" in farm schemes.
Ireland South MEP Michael McNamara said that trust among farmers in government farm schemes was "already scant" before these issues arose with ACRES.
Over 10,000 ACRES participants are still awaiting their advance payments for the 2024 scheme year, and almost one-in-four of those farmers have not received a balancing payment for the 2023 scheme year.
"As the wait goes on, confidence in government schemes is diminished.
"Farmers throughout Ireland have undertaken a huge body of work to become compliant with the requirements of the ACRES scheme, expecting to receive payment for their commitments processed in a timely manner, which has ultimately not been the case," McNamara said.
He added: "Thousands of farmers have been left out of pocket for their efforts for too long, and if this continues, the trust of Irish farmers in CAP [Common Agricultural Schemes] schemes, which is already wearing thin, will only be further deteriorated."
The former TD for Clare said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine needs to establish measures to ensure such delays do not become an annual issue.
"Farmers' continued frustration with such schemes is just, and assurances are needed from the minister [Martin Heydon] and the department that we won't see these issues every year.
"Permanent solutions need to be put in place, ensuring that Irish farmers are rewarded for their environmental commitments in a fair and transparent timeframe which the department can commit to," he said.
McNamara said that blaming administration and information technology (IT) issues this year is "not credible".
"Those providing inefficient IT systems and those managing them need to be replaced if they genuinely cannot make them work on time," he said.
"Farmers need to be given certainty that their commitments made to schemes are worthwhile, but the current system and delays are wholly unacceptable," the MEP added.
McNamara's comments came after there were renewed calls for the department to make an interim payment to farmers who are still awaiting payment, as was done last year.
Following a meeting of the Farmers’ Charter committee, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) said that Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon “has to sort out the ACRES mess”.
“IFA is calling for an urgent interim payment from national funds, similar to last year. Unlike his predecessor, the minister is refusing to do this," Brendan Golden, the association's Connacht regional chairperson, said.
