ICSA president Dermot Kelleher has said it is unacceptable that some 18,600 farmers will have to wait until February 2024 to receive their ACRES payment.

"ICSA, along with other farmer representatives, yesterday (6 December) met with senior Department of Agriculture officials in Portlaoise for an update on payments from the various farm schemes. At this meeting we were informed that no participant of the Cooperation Project (CP) stream of ACRES tranche one will be paid until February at the earliest. This news will come as a devasting blow to all those farmers who have been already waiting far too long for their payments," he said.

Continuing Mr Kelleher said, "The issue was not up for debate; it was simply a case of the department telling us how it is. It is a disgraceful way to treat farmers who signed up to this scheme in good faith and who were eager to play their part in meeting climate targets for agriculture - even before any details of the scheme were available to them."

"Now these farmers have been left out of pocket having completed the actions required and having expected payment in late November. Many farmers rely heavily on scheme payments to pay their basic bills and any delay can cause severe hardship. Planners, merchants, and a host of others are currently demanding payments from farmers who simply have no way of paying them. No other cohort of people would be left high and dry like this; it is a disgrace, and it must never happen again."

ICSA also insisted that the department must make every effort to improve their systems and speed up the rate at which they are conducting their checks regarding the scheme. "It is unacceptable that the department should get farmers to sign up to a scheme without having the systems in place to administer the scheme in the timeframe set out."

Payments for tranche one of ACRES General are expected to commence on 18 December 2023.