79. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a full explanation for the ongoing delays in issuing ACRES payments to participating farmers; the number of applicants still awaiting full or partial payment under all streams of the scheme; the urgent steps being taken by his Department to resolve system bottlenecks and ensure timely payment to farmers who have met all compliance requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36922/25]
Sentiment score: 0.25
I want to ask the Minister about the ongoing delays in issuing ACRES payments. Farmers signed up to these schemes in good faith. There are delays in payment even in cases of full compliance. The issue is an inability to pay. I want answers as to what the Minister is doing about it. What is the reason for the delay? Is it merely that the Department does not have the funding to pay the farmers? This is totally unacceptable. I expect a good response from the Minister.
Sentiment score: -0.01
The Minister calls ACRES a flagship scheme. I wonder about that. The ongoing and completely unacceptable delays in the issuing of ACRES payments is a matter of deep concern to farmers across the country. It is just not fair. Farmers who entered this scheme did so in good faith, on the understanding that they would be paid in a timely manner. Yet, here we are, halfway into 2025, and thousands of farmers are still waiting. I must be the only person in the country meeting farmers who are unpaid in County Waterford, County Tipperary and other places. Farmers are even waiting for partial payments. Many have received nothing at all. This is not a technical glitch or a minor inconvenience; this is a serious cashflow crisis for farmers who have bills to pay and who have engaged contractors in good faith. They expect to get the money as they have been compliant. Many of the delays are due to errors on the side of the Department. One example relates to a constituent who was due to receive his 2024 payment. He received a partial payment in November 2024, which was totally due to an error by the Department. He was told he would be provided with a corrective payment in 2025. Now in July he has received a payment of just €300 when he was due €5,000. A dodgy car salesman would do better than this. The Minister said recently that due to staffing issues, the payments could not be paid. That would not be acceptable in any Department or for anybody else.
Sentiment score: -0.03
It is not good enough.
Sentiment score: -0.34
I accept the Minister's bona fides. He is a farmer. I am a businessman. No one could operate in this manner, with farmers still waiting for payments from 2023 and hearing every excuse in the world. A man expected to get €5,000 of a corrective payment and he got €300. As I said, a dodgy salesman or a man at a fair who would spit in your hand would do better than that. In this day and age, this is shocking. I accept the Minister's bona fides but I want to know how many farmers are still waiting under each stream of ACRES and how many farmers are suffering through Department errors. This is not acceptable. What concrete steps is the Department taking? The Minister said he has made efforts but what kind of a lethargic or inept mindset got into the Department? I respect the Department officials and have done for decades. I have met them and dealt with them. In this day and age, it is just not good enough to blame IT and blame anything he likes. Farmers entered into these schemes in good faith and where they are compliant and honour the terms of the scheme, they must be paid. They have contractors to pay. They have feed suppliers to pay. They have families to raise and kids to put into education. No other sector would put up with this. The Department issued a statement some months ago - I heard it myself - that there were delays with payments again and the new deadline would not be met due to lack of staff. If the Department officials were told they would not get paid next Thursday, or if that statement was made in any Department, that would not last for long. The farmers need fair play here. Fair play is fine play for me and it is not happening for the farmers of Ireland.
Sentiment score: 0.02