494. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if farmers in the co-operation programme areas of the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, who applied for non-profit investments before Christmas 2023, with the approximate approval date in April 2024, can expend money in completing works such as fencing, gates, drinking troughs, bird boxes and so on; if they will be reimbursed by the said particular timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6387/24]

My Department received applications for Non-productive Investments (NPIs) from circa 4,000 ACRES participants, covering over 44,000 actions, in December 2023. At present, these applications are being screened by the Co-operation Project Teams. Once this screening is complete, my officials will issue decision letters to the applicants, detailing what actions are approved or not approved.

NPIs are voluntary actions and are not a requirement of remaining a participant in ACRES. It is important to note, however, that any action to be carried out by the applicant must be approved from the outset. Once the action is completed, the participant can make a claim for payment.

More details on NPI payment claims will be made available by my Department in due course.