The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Lobbying Organisation The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Date published 17 Sep, 2025

Relevant Matter Matters involving public funds

Public Policy Area Finance

Period 1 May, 2025 to 31 Aug, 2025

Specific Details Proposals for an Improved ACRES Scheme - Non-Productive Investments/Landscape Actions

Intended results That existing Non-Productive Investments / Landscape Actions should be available to all farmers whose land is scored, regardless of being in CP or General. The purpose of NPI's is to improve scores, however farmers in ACRES General with LIG or Commonage have no direct support, financial support nor means of applying for NPI's to improve these field scores. This must be corrected. New/additional bespoke measures should also be eligible for payment where more appropriate to promote/enhance habitat/biodiversity in individual locations and agreed in consultation with CP Teams. It is essential that farmers are provided with a schedule of NPI & LA application windows (i.e. opening & closing dates), but more importantly an agreed decision timeline is derived (& enforced) from when, post the end of the application window, farmers can expect to receive approval letters. Non-receipt of formal decisions within agreed timelines are assumed approved It is unacceptable, as has happened to date, that applications for NPI which closed early December 2023, yet mid-November 2024 no farmer has been able to undertake the necessary environmental action because the issuing of approval letters has not yet commenced. A centralised fund per ACRES CP Team should be established, with greater authority afforded to ACRES CP Teams to approve NPI / LA, at least for certain investment types, to support a more streamlined NPI / LA process. Similar to mobile TAMS applications (subject perhaps to max. €5,000 ceiling per application), permit applicants to progress with NPI/LA, at their own risk, once valid applications have been submitted. Payments to follow on receipt of geo-tagged photo and vouched expenses. This too will enable actions to be undertaken quicker, and more time for actions to yield greater environmental benefit and improved scoring/payments overall. To minimise lost time, afforded resources and constrained environmental action, opportunity to amend minor infringements within individual applications should be permitted, rather than reject individual measures entirely. For example, moving a water trough outside the required 20m perimeter of a watercourse, where currently its location is within the excluded area. Approval on condition is provided for within the NPI specifications. Culverts are included within eligible NPI's to provide a safe drain crossing point for livestock, people, and vehicles to cross drains without fording them and prevent regular discharges of sediment and nutrients to watercourses. However, culverts are not permitted on natural watercourses (incl. OSI waterline and Single Stream line) or on arterial drainage channels. This will considerably limit the potential benefit of this NPI and should be reviewed. Consideration should be given to supporting complementary investments to those listed (e.g. gate pillars where required), and ensuring individual NPI eligibility criterion do not prohibit individual livestock type (e.g. min 317 litre water trough and its suitability for sheep operations). Clarification is needed on whether there will be opportunity provided to seek an extension to NPI completions to the following year, and submit a payment as a single application then. By way of context, it may be more practical and cost-effective for farmers, who applied for NPI's in 2023 and 2024, to combine / action categories of investments rather than proceed in sequence of NPI application. To aid resource efficiency, consideration should be given to utilising excess interim payments, in full/part, as advance payment for the completion of approved Non-Productive Investments where applicable.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Francie Gorman IFA President, John Curran IFA Rural Development Chair, Shane Whelan IFA Senior Policy Executive, Rachel Moloney IFA Policy Executive

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Mass communications

Letter All TDs

Submission All TDs

Letter All Senators

Submission All Senators

Letter All MEPs

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Letter (1)

Submission (1)

Informal communication (2-5)

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Brian Purcell Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture and the Marine)

Martin Heydon Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)