Map: How many ACRES applications in your county?
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that 46,230 farmers across the country applied for the new Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
On Wednesday (March 1), the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, confirmed that all valid applications would be given a place in Tranche 1 of the €1.5 billion agri-environmental scheme.
Funding for just 30,000 places had made available as part of Budget 2023 for the first round of applications.
The department is currently issuing formal approval letters to applicants.
“The message for now is that farmers should wait until they receive their letters before contacting either the department or their advisor,” the minister said.
Data from the department of agriculture shows that the county with the highest number of ACRES applications was Mayo with 5,773.
This was followed by Galway on 5,554 applications and Donegal with 4,941.
At 72, Dublin is the county with the lowest number of applications.
Click on the map below to see how many ACRES applications were made in your county:
The new results-based agri-environmental scheme is divided into two streams.
The ACRES general approach is available to farmers nationally and has a maximum annual payment of up to €7,311.
Farmers located in defined ‘high priority’ areas will be able to apply for the ACRES cooperation approach where they could receive up to €10,500 in a given year.
According to the department, 18,618 farmers applied for the co-op approach, while 27,612 sought a place in the general approach.
Galway was the county with the highest number of general applications with 3,031 and Mayo had the highest amount of co-op applications at 2,837.
The following table provides a complete county-by-county breakdown of the number of ACRES applications submitted by stream and county:
| County | ACRES co-operation | ACRES general | Total applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow | 126 | 361 | 487 |
| Cavan | 364 | 1,344 | 1,708 |
| Clare | 1,486 | 1,522 | 3,008 |
| Cork | 1,432 | 2,311 | 3,743 |
| Donegal | 2,903 | 2,038 | 4,941 |
| Dublin | 33 | 39 | 72 |
| Galway | 2,523 | 3,031 | 5,554 |
| Kerry | 2,577 | 961 | 3,538 |
| Kildare | 20 | 261 | 281 |
| Kilkenny | 1 | 634 | 635 |
| Laois | 111 | 339 | 450 |
| Leitrim | 1,440 | 685 | 2,125 |
| Limerick | 573 | 810 | 1,383 |
| Longford | 9 | 1,252 | 1,261 |
| Louth | 100 | 156 | 256 |
| Mayo | 2,837 | 2,936 | 5,773 |
| Meath | 4 | 469 | 473 |
| Monaghan | 129 | 590 | 719 |
| Offaly | 50 | 669 | 719 |
| Roscommon | 276 | 2,352 | 2,628 |
| Sligo | 819 | 935 | 1,754 |
| Tipperary | 396 | 1,253 | 1,649 |
| Waterford | 147 | 363 | 510 |
| Westmeath | 6 | 928 | 934 |
| Wexford | 59 | 984 | 1,043 |
| Wicklow | 197 | 389 | 586 |
| Total | 18,618 | 27,612 | 46,230 |
Due to the higher-than-anticipated number of participants, access to the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) for ACRES applicants will be made available on a gradual basis over the next few weeks as their approval letters are issued.
The department said that this process is expected to be completed by the end of March.
