The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has called on Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to intervene and remove obstacles that are withholding balancing ACRES payments.

IFA hill farming chair Caillin Conneely has reiterated calls on behalf of hill farming members and those in ACRES co-operation zones affected by the delays.

The association said it is receiving an increasing number of complaints from farmers who are “disillusioned” with the scheme.

“Many are giving serious consideration to leaving the scheme altogether,” Conneely said.

“The scheme has fallen flat on its face and the blame lies with the Department. Cashflow is becoming more and more [of] an issue on farms.

“We were told it was coming in May, then June, and more recently all would be sorted before end [of] September. The goalposts keep moving to suit the Department, not the farmer.”

More flexibility

It is estimated that there are over 10,000 farmers waiting on their balancing payments.

The IFA has also described the scoring as “extremely harsh” on many commonages and it believes there should be more flexibility applied, including reducing the exclusion zone around turbary activity.

In a statement to the Irish Farmers Journal, Senator Victor Boyhan has supported calls for the setup of a pathway to resolve the cashflow concerns.

“You will appreciate that farmers entered the scheme in good faith, worked collaboratively with advisers and took environmental actions - if confidence is to be rebuilt in ACRES, fairness, clarity and timely payments must be honoured,” he said.