Balancing payments under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) for 2025 have started to issue to farmers, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has announced.

Around 47,000 farmers will receive the payments.

“This week’s pay runs will bring the total paid, in core scheme payments, to farmers in ACRES to €783.5m since the scheme commenced in January 2023,” the Minister said.

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“The commencement of the 2025 balancing payments in mid-April, which is a month earlier than the commencement of the 2024 balancing payments in May 2025, demonstrates the significant work undertaken by my Department in the making of payments under the scheme.

"The submission of scheme documentation by farmers and their ACRES advisers also contributed to both the timeliness and the number that may be paid.

"It is envisaged that over 88% of the farmers in ACRES will have received their ACRES 2025 balancing payment by the end of this week,” he said.

Delayed payments

Referring to the number of farmers awaiting payment in respect of the earlier years of the scheme, Minister Heydon said: “I am conscious that, while over 99% of all participants are fully paid in respect of their participation in the scheme in respect of 2023 and 2024, payments still have to issue in respect of some contracts.

“The payments for some of those contracts may not be made until such time as legalities following the death of the original participant have been concluded, while resolution of the issues affecting the other contracts is ongoing.

"I want to assure those farmers awaiting payments that payments will be made as soon as those issues are resolved and the contracts have cleared for payment,” he said.

Scheme results

The Minister said it was “timely to note the return that Ireland is getting from the provision of this support to farmers to undertake environmental actions on their farms”.

This includes the management of over 285,000ha of commonage entered into the scheme, whereby farmers are incentivised through results-based payment to manage this high-value land appropriately, he said.

“Farmers are also being supported under the scheme to maintain and enhance the sward structure of over 212,000ha of extensively managed lands, which will benefit a range of invertebrates, birds and other species.

"Support is also being provided, under the low-input grassland and low-input peat grassland actions in the scheme, for the sensitive management of over 130,000ha of grasslands on peat soils for the reduction of carbon dioxide,” he said.