Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon does not plan on reopening the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) for new farmer applicants.

The Department of Agriculture’s flagship environmental scheme and replacement of the Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS) is provided for under the 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan.

It has €1.5bn in exchequer and EU funding allocated over its course.

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“As the number of participants in the scheme, at just under 54,000, is already in excess of the original target capacity of 50,000, the scheme is at full capacity," the Minister said.

No plans

“There are at present no plans to open any further tranches for new entrants into the scheme,” he said in response to a parliamentary question from Galway east TD Albert Dolan.

The Minister added that it should be noted that the regulations require that commitments must be undertaken for a minimum of five years, meaning that the remaining time period of the current CAP would not be sufficient to allow new entrants.