Decision letters from the third application window for non-productive investments (NPIs) under the co-operation approach of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be issued in the coming days, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has announced.
NPIs are complementary environmental actions that participants in the ACRES co-operation can undertake to improve environmental outcomes on the farm, thereby increasing the score of the lands when assessed and increasing their payments under the scheme as a result.
In addition to a maximum core annual payment of €7,000, which is a maximum of €35,000 over the five-year period, ACRES co-operation participants may avail of additional payments of up to €17,500 in respect of the implementation of approved NPI actions by the deadline stated in the relevant decision letters.
This €17,500 fund for NPIs may also be supplemented with unused funding from the participant’s core annual payment, the Department has said.
Collaboration
Over 40 NPIs have been developed in collaboration with the ACRES co-operation project teams, which fall into three different categories: habitat and wildlife support, infrastructure and scrub/track (Burren/Aran CP zone only).
NPI actions that were applied for most in 2025 include:
Installation of gates.Fencing sheep wire.Fencing permanent electric.Water troughs.Planting of trees.The Minister said he was pleased with the level of interest shown in the application window in 2025, which was the third opportunity for ACRES co-operation participants to apply and was open from 5 August to 17 October 2025.
“My Department will be issuing the decision letters on those 2025 NPI applications over the next fortnight, so farmers can then start implementing the NPIs approved in their 2025 NPI annual work plans,” Heydon stated.
“The issue of the decision letters within six months of the closing date is a significant improvement on the timeframe within which the decisions were issued in previous years and this quicker turnaround will give farmers more time to undertake the work.”
The Minister also said that just under €7m has been paid to 2,929 ACRES farmers to date in respect of the implementation of NPIs approved under the annual work plans for both 2023 and 2024.
“The benefit of those actions should become evident when their lands are being assessed and scored in due course for the calculation of their ACRES results-based payments,” he said.
The fourth NPI application window is set to open in quarter three of 2026, according to the Department.
“I would therefore encourage ACRES co-operation farmers to engage with their ACRES advisers and their local ACRES co-operation project team in the next few months to increase their awareness of the range of NPIs available and of the way in which they may benefit their lands, with a view to their ACRES adviser submitting an application for NPIs on their behalf when the next application window opens,” the Minister said.
More information on this scheme can be found on the Department's ACRES website.
Decision letters from the third application window for non-productive investments (NPIs) under the co-operation approach of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be issued in the coming days, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has announced.
NPIs are complementary environmental actions that participants in the ACRES co-operation can undertake to improve environmental outcomes on the farm, thereby increasing the score of the lands when assessed and increasing their payments under the scheme as a result.
In addition to a maximum core annual payment of €7,000, which is a maximum of €35,000 over the five-year period, ACRES co-operation participants may avail of additional payments of up to €17,500 in respect of the implementation of approved NPI actions by the deadline stated in the relevant decision letters.
This €17,500 fund for NPIs may also be supplemented with unused funding from the participant’s core annual payment, the Department has said.
Collaboration
Over 40 NPIs have been developed in collaboration with the ACRES co-operation project teams, which fall into three different categories: habitat and wildlife support, infrastructure and scrub/track (Burren/Aran CP zone only).
NPI actions that were applied for most in 2025 include:
Installation of gates.Fencing sheep wire.Fencing permanent electric.Water troughs.Planting of trees.The Minister said he was pleased with the level of interest shown in the application window in 2025, which was the third opportunity for ACRES co-operation participants to apply and was open from 5 August to 17 October 2025.
“My Department will be issuing the decision letters on those 2025 NPI applications over the next fortnight, so farmers can then start implementing the NPIs approved in their 2025 NPI annual work plans,” Heydon stated.
“The issue of the decision letters within six months of the closing date is a significant improvement on the timeframe within which the decisions were issued in previous years and this quicker turnaround will give farmers more time to undertake the work.”
The Minister also said that just under €7m has been paid to 2,929 ACRES farmers to date in respect of the implementation of NPIs approved under the annual work plans for both 2023 and 2024.
“The benefit of those actions should become evident when their lands are being assessed and scored in due course for the calculation of their ACRES results-based payments,” he said.
The fourth NPI application window is set to open in quarter three of 2026, according to the Department.
“I would therefore encourage ACRES co-operation farmers to engage with their ACRES advisers and their local ACRES co-operation project team in the next few months to increase their awareness of the range of NPIs available and of the way in which they may benefit their lands, with a view to their ACRES adviser submitting an application for NPIs on their behalf when the next application window opens,” the Minister said.
More information on this scheme can be found on the Department's ACRES website.
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