Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has announced that balancing payments in respect of 2025 have started to issue to farmers participating in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

The balancing payments total around €37 million and are being paid to 47,000 ACRES participants.

This week’s pay runs will bring the total paid, in core scheme payments, to farmers in ACRES to €783.5 million since the scheme commenced in January 2023.

Minister Heydon said that the commencement of the 2025 balancing payments in mid-April is taking place a month earlier than the commencement of the 2024 balancing payments in May 2025.

He said this "demonstrates the significant work" undertaken by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the making of payments under the scheme.

"The submission of scheme documentation by farmers and their ACRES advisors also contributed to both the timeliness and the number that may be paid," the minister added.

It is envisaged that over 88% of the farmers in ACRES will have received their ACRES 2025 balancing payment by the end of this week.

Minister Heydon said that he is conscious that, while over 99% of all participants are fully paid in respect of their participation in the scheme in respect of 2023 and 2024, payments still have to issue in respect of some contracts.

The payments for some of those contracts may not be made until such time as legalities following the death of the original participant have been concluded, while resolution of the issues affecting the other contracts is ongoing.

"I want to assure those farmers awaiting payments, that payments will be made as soon as those issues are resolved and the contracts have cleared for payment," he said.

Minister Heydon added: "It is important and timely to note the return that Ireland is getting from the provision of this support to farmers to undertake environmental actions on their farms.

"This return includes the management of over 285,000 hectares of commonage entered into the scheme, whereby farmers are incentivised through results-based payment to manage this high value land appropriately," he said.

The minister said farmers are also being supported under the scheme to maintain and enhance the sward structure of over 212,000 hectares of extensively managed lands, which will benefit a range of invertebrates, birds and other species.

"Support is also being provided, under the Low-Input Grassland and Low-Input Peat Grassland actions in the scheme, for the sensitive management of over 130,000 hectares of grasslands on peat soils for the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2)," he added.

"I am delighted to be able to reward farmers, who are the custodians of the land, for their contribution to a range of environmental, biodiversity, climate and water quality objectives through their participation in ACRES," Minister Heydon remarked.