The IFA has hit out at what it claims to be “out of touch and disconnected” comments made by Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon who said that “real progress” is being made in clearing outstanding Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) payments.

The impact of ACRES payment delays on farmers was the most common issue raised by senators with Minister Heydon in his first appearance before the Seanad as a senior minister.

The minister pledged to get the “vast majority of these cases resolved, cleared and paid by the end of May, with the most difficult and problematic ones to be cleared by the end of June”.

There are around 10,000 farmers waiting on 2024 ACRES payments and 2,000 still waiting on funding from participating in the scheme in 2023.

IFA president Francie Gorman suggested that claims of progress will fall flat due the stress and financial hardship experienced by the thousands of farmers impacted by the delays.

'Insult' to farm families

“How can the minister say 'real progress' is being made when there are still thousands awaiting ACRES payments,” the IFA leader asked.

“These payments were due last November, with over 2,000 of these awaiting balancing 2023 payments as well. It's an insult to these farm families to call that progress,” Gorman said.

The association’s rural development chair John Curran stated that some farmers, hit particularly hard by the delays, have been forced to sell breeding stock to keep cash flowing.

It is dependent on Minister Heydon and his department to sort out the delays, Curran said.

“They created ACRES. They haven't the IT functionality to progress cases, even at this stage in year three of a five-year scheme,” he said.

“They have declined to pay an interim payment to impacted farm families, as IFA have called for.

“There are farmers out there forced to sell breeding stock just to keep the show on the road. That is how serious it is, and through no fault of their own,” Curran added.

Curran called on the minister to re-evaluate his position on making another interim payment from national funding to deliver immediate support to those facing financial pressures due to the delays.