ACRES payment delays ‘eroding farmers’ confidence’ in all schemes – ICSA

The ongoing hold-ups in issuing ACRES payments to farmers is “eroding farmers’ confidence” in all schemes, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has said.

ICSA rural development chair Edmond Phelan made the comments as over 12,000 farmers have yet to receive their 2024 ACRES payments, while 2,764 are still awaiting their balancing payments from 2023.

“Around 15,000 farmers are still waiting for the money they are rightfully owed,” Phelan said.

“The poor administration of this vital environmental scheme has left farmers exasperated and questioning whether it is worth participating in these schemes at all. Farmers have done the work, and they deserve to be paid on time,” he said.

Unacceptable

The rural development chair said the situation is completely unacceptable and would not be tolerated in any other sector.

“Payment delays wouldn’t wash in any other industry, yet farmers are expected to just accept them,” he said.

If the system isn’t working, they need to get the chequebook out and pay manually

“We heard from Minister [for Agriculture Martin] Heydon at the ICSA annual general meeting and conference last week that it will be months before all the issues are resolved.

“This is simply not acceptable. The Department of Agriculture continues to cite IT issues as the primary cause of the delays, but this excuse is wearing thin. If the system isn’t working, they need to get the chequebook out and pay manually.

“Payment delays cause serious cash flow problems, particularly for low-income beef, sheep and suckler farmers, who are already under immense financial pressure.

“Farmers have spent significant sums of money fulfilling their obligations under the scheme, and they should not have to wait indefinitely to be paid,” he added.

Phelan called on Minister Heydon to make resolving this matter his “absolute priority” to restore confidence in the scheme.

“Delays like these undermine trust in all farm schemes. Farmers need certainty, not excuses,” he said.