There is mounting pressure on the Department of Agriculture to immediately issue ACRES habitat scores to farmers who applied on commonage lands and in co-operation areas.

The Department had indicated that habitat scores would be issued to farmers by 1 September, but it is still unclear whether this target date will be met.

The farm organisations have reacted angrily to the lack of information from the Department on the habitat scores, describing its performance to date as “shambolic” and “totally unacceptable”.

Farm representatives pointed out that close to 20,000 ACRES applicants have been waiting for habitat scores since last summer, and that these scores will dictate payment levels to farmers with commonage ground and those operating in co-operation areas for 2023 and 2024.

“All farmers need their habitat scores so that they can assess where their lands are at, and where their ACRES payments are at,” said INHFA president Vincent Roddy.

Roddy also maintained that a “rapid appeals system” was needed to independently assess habitat scores due to what he described as “the huge disparity” in farmer payments under the scheme.

IFA hill farming chair Cáillin Conneely called on the Department to “devote whatever resources are needed” to quickly sort out “the mess” around ACRES.