The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. today confirmed that Tranche 2 of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be opening for the submission of applications in early November.
Following up on his budget 2024 ACRES announcement Minister McConalogue commented: “I have increased the allocation for ACRES by €40m bringing the total scheme allocation to €200 million – this is a substantial increase on the 2023 budget of €160 million. The provision of additional funding will allow us to deliver on the Government’s commitment to have 50,000 farmers participating in ACRES, our flagship environmental programme under Ireland’s 2023-2027 CAP Plan. There was unprecedented demand for places in Tranche 1 and having ensured all 46,000 farmers could participate in that Tranche, I am delighted to now open Tranche 2 to a further 4,000 farmers.”
Farmers who are interested in applying for Tranche 2 can now check on AgFood to see which ACRES approach – ACRES General or ACRES Co-operation – they are eligible for, as this will inform their decision to apply, and into which stream.
Noting that there will again be three steps in the ACRES application process, as was the case with applications for Tranche 1 of the Scheme, the Department of Agriculture advised that while the ACRES system will be opening early next month, farmers and their ACRES advisors should commence some of the associated preparatory work at the earliest opportunity. The Access Agreement facility for Tranche 2, which is the first step in the process, is now open. This is the online facility whereby ACRES advisors may submit an Expression of Interest for Tranche 2 of ACRES. It must be completed by advisors in respect of each of their clients who wish to apply for ACRES, in advance of preparation of the required Farm Sustainability Plan (FSP). The Department’s Generic Land Management System (GLAM) will then open in the next couple of weeks for the preparation of Farm Sustainability Plans. Finally, the opening of the ACRES System for the formal submission of the applications will follow in early November. This phased roll-out of the application process gives a longer period of time for ACRES advisors to do their initial review, visit farms and consult with clients before finally submitting an ACRES application.
In the event of a higher number of applications being received, a ranking and selection process will be applied based on the extent of the environmental benefit to be delivered.
Advance payments for those currently in Tranche 1 of ACRES are being processed by the Department with payments scheduled to commence towards the end of November.
The Minister concluded by thanking famer participants for their active engagement with the programme and the ACRES advisors for their enormous efforts over recent months in scoring lands.
Comprehensive information in relation to ACRES is available on the Department’s website at gov.ie – Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) (www.gov.ie).
