Over 1,100 (1,153) payments remain to be made to Kerry farmers under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).
ACRES is Ireland's agri-environment climate scheme to address biodiversity decline on farmland, but some payment are two years behind schedule.
97 Kerry farmers remain unpaid since 2023: 25 in the general scheme for those farming outside of high priority geographical areas, and 72 in the cooperation scheme for farmers in defined high priority geographical areas.
415 farmers in Kerry are still looking for their 2024 advance payments: 100 in the general scheme and 315 in the cooperation scheme.
Meanwhile, 641 still await their 2024 balance payments: 115 general and 526 cooperation.
West Kerry sheep farmer John Joe Fitzgerald is vice president of the INHFA.
He says many of these farmers have paid out of their own pocket for work under the ACRES scheme to consultants, to workers, and to contractors:
Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon says he expects the payments to be made by the end of June.
For more, tune into AgriTime with Sari Houlihan on Radio Kerry at 7 o'clock this evening.
