Some 16,000 applicants to ACRES have been left in limbo as Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue grapples with the massive over-subscription to the agri-environmental scheme.

A total of 46,000 farmers applied for the scheme before last week’s deadline, 53% more than the 30,000 that was budgeted for in 2023.

Minister McConalogue refused to say whether the extra 16,000 farmers would be included in the agri-environmental scheme, when questioned by the Irish Farmers Journal.

He admitted that he did not yet know if it would be possible to include all those who had applied.

He said he was assessing the challenges of including all farmers from a budgetary and logistical point of view.

The minister said his objective “is to ensure that all farmers have the capacity to be involved” in ACRES.