Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has opened the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) landscape actions for applications from co-operation (CP) teams.
This aims to support large-scale environmental actions focusing on issues such as threatened species, water quality protection, invasive species management and encroaching scrub management in species-rich grassland.
This initiative will be available in the eight ACRES high-priority environmental areas.
Making the announcement, Minister Heydon said this is an important feature of ACRES and a further step up in ambition on previous agri-environmental schemes.
“The list of landscape actions and associated specifications are draft until such time as the public consultation process on the appropriate assessment, required under environmental legislation, of the landscape actions has been completed.”
Actions
The application window for actions is open. However, decisions on those applications will have to await the completion of the public consultation process.
The application process is being made available in the meantime to enable the ACRES CP teams to engage with ACRES farmers in their areas and prepare applications in the form of a landscape action annual works plan.
“I look forward to the positive engagement of those participants with the CP teams and to the effective deployment of the available funding of €50m over the next three years to implement landscape actions, which will benefit the local environment while also contributing to improving the quality and score of their lands in the coming years, leading to an increased results-based core payment for the participants themselves,” added Minister Heydon.
ACRES
There are currently just under 54,000 farmers in ACRES, with just over 22,500 participating in the co-operation approach.
As of 11 July 2025, a total of €513.2m has been paid to ACRES participants, of which almost €264.35m is in respect of participation in the scheme in 2024, while over €248.7m relates to participation in 2023.
Read more
Claims system opens for ACRES NPIs
€0.5m paid to 543 ACRES participants last week
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has opened the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) landscape actions for applications from co-operation (CP) teams.
This aims to support large-scale environmental actions focusing on issues such as threatened species, water quality protection, invasive species management and encroaching scrub management in species-rich grassland.
This initiative will be available in the eight ACRES high-priority environmental areas.
Making the announcement, Minister Heydon said this is an important feature of ACRES and a further step up in ambition on previous agri-environmental schemes.
“The list of landscape actions and associated specifications are draft until such time as the public consultation process on the appropriate assessment, required under environmental legislation, of the landscape actions has been completed.”
Actions
The application window for actions is open. However, decisions on those applications will have to await the completion of the public consultation process.
The application process is being made available in the meantime to enable the ACRES CP teams to engage with ACRES farmers in their areas and prepare applications in the form of a landscape action annual works plan.
“I look forward to the positive engagement of those participants with the CP teams and to the effective deployment of the available funding of €50m over the next three years to implement landscape actions, which will benefit the local environment while also contributing to improving the quality and score of their lands in the coming years, leading to an increased results-based core payment for the participants themselves,” added Minister Heydon.
ACRES
There are currently just under 54,000 farmers in ACRES, with just over 22,500 participating in the co-operation approach.
As of 11 July 2025, a total of €513.2m has been paid to ACRES participants, of which almost €264.35m is in respect of participation in the scheme in 2024, while over €248.7m relates to participation in 2023.
Read more
Claims system opens for ACRES NPIs
€0.5m paid to 543 ACRES participants last week
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