I also want to raise the delay in payments for some participants in ACRES. As we know, it is a very important environmental scheme and helps to compensate farmers for costs incurred in carrying out additional environmental measures. Farmers in the scheme have carried out those tasks and considerable costs have been incurred. The importance of the scheme is illustrated very clearly, with 46,600 participants. The farmers understood the payments would be made at the end of November. I understand a sizeable cohort of those participants have been told they may not receive payments until February. There has been a history of advance payments for particular schemes over the years in the Department. I would like the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, to give urgent consideration to the introduction of an advanced payment of a sizeable proportion of, say, 80% to 85%. If any issues then arose in finalising the applications, the balancing payment could offset any non-compliance issue, etc. This is something that needs urgent attention. Farmers were depending on these payments to meet ongoing commitments on their farms.

I thank Deputy Smith for raising this important issue. As I stated, 46,000 farmers applied for ACRES and were all facilitated, even though initially the number of participants it could be anticipated could be taken in was just 30,000. There have been challenges in the additional complexity associated with the co-operation stream, the CP stream, and payments by ACRES CP participants are being progressed and will begin to issue in February 2024. Payments will commence on 18 December, with two thirds of all the ACRES recipients in receipt of them. I will bring to the Minister's attention the specific suggestion Deputy Smith put forward.