FARMERS are being put under enormous financial pressure and stress due to outstanding payments owed to them in relation to the Acres Scheme (Agri Climate Rural Environment), a council meeting heard last week.
Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) raised a motion calling on Cork County Council to write to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and ask his department to address this payment delay as a matter of urgency.
He also asked for a clear timeframe for the 2024 Acres Scheme payments.
The goal of this scheme is to assist farmers in enhancing bio-diversity, climate, air and water quality on their farms.
Cllr Harrington said most farmers are heading into their third year of this scheme but most have not been paid in full for year one or two.
‘This is putting many farmers under enormous stress and while there was an interim payment made, some ended up being underpaid or overpaid and there is some confusion even over these payments,’ said Cllr Harrington.
He pointed out that this is going to cause ‘a lot of damage’ to farmer goodwill in the area of environmental and ecological improvements.
‘If It’s not sorted out by the Department as a matter of urgency it will have a huge impact on farmers driving environmental changes in the future. It also has tax implications for some farmers and it may affect college grant applications if their income increases.’
Cllr Danny Collins (Ind Ire) described the delay in payments as ‘scandalous’.
‘We were told in May or June that the balance of 2023 payments would be paid out in the coming months but we’re now at September and farmers are still waiting for payments. These farmers have bills and co-ops to pay and contractors to pay and it’s not good enough.’
He said they need to invite the Minister into chamber to question him on this rather than sending strongly worded letter to his department.
Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) fully supported the motion and said it is important to take sustainable farming seriously.
‘This means properly supporting farmers who are choosing to opt into schemes like Acres. We need to make these environmental schemes as straightforward and as beneficial as possible to farmers and timely payments are a huge part of that,’ said Cllr Towse.
Cllr John Michael Foley (FG) said it’s been a difficult year for farmers with nitrates directives also contributing to this.
‘We are becoming organic whether we like it or not and it is really necessary that this payment comes through very soon,’ said Cllr Foley.
Cllr Anthony Barry (FG), said that while he didn’t join this scheme, he said it vital this is sorted as soon as possible as it will put the future of the scheme in doubt.
‘I’m glad I didn’t join it now, it was clear it would be problematic and now it has proved to be a problem across the country,’ said Cllr Barry.
Cllr Sheila O’Callaghan (FF) added that there was great uptake and interest in the scheme from farmers but that it’s a pity it wasn’t followed through on the payment side.
Cllr Harrington said that perhaps the Department should plan the scheme better as farmers are still waiting on outstanding payments.
Minister McConalogue responded last week that he acknowledged the delays in processing of payments for farmers who joined Acres in Tranche 1 and the 8,636 farmers awaiting their balancing payment.
‘This scheme, with its scale, ambition and complexity, has presented challenges in terms of meeting the payment timelines envisaged at the time of its launch,’ he said.
‘I have been working closely with the Acres team to ensure that a plan is in place to ensure that these are finalised as soon as possible. I expect payments to be completed in respect of 95% of all Acres participants by the end of September.’
Almost 55,000 farmers are participating in the Acres scheme.
‘Acres is an environmental scheme that is unprecedented in the scale of its ambition, and it has enormous potential to deliver significant long-term dividends for farmers and for the environment. I look forward to the remaining year one balancing payments being significantly resolved this month, and to both Tranche 1 and 2 payments proceeding according to committed timelines for 2024,’ said Minister McConalogue.
