Minister Heydon announces issue of decision letters on ACRES Non-Productive Investments applications
- Published on: 23 April 2026
- Last updated on: 23 April 2026
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has today announced that decision letters in respect of the third application window for Non-Productive Investments under the Co-operation approach of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will be issued in the coming days.
ACRES Non-Productive Investments (NPIs) are voluntary complementary environmental actions available under the ACRES Co-operation approach that support farmers to take specific measures to enhance environmental outcomes on their holdings, and thereby increase their payments under the scheme.
Making the announcement, Minister Heydon said:
“The availability of funding for non-productive investments is an opportunity for farmers in the ACRES Co-operation approach to address issues or implement actions to improve the environmental quality of their lands, thereby increasing the score of the lands when assessed and, in turn, their results-based payment under ACRES. The application window in 2025, which was open from 5 August to 17 October 2025, was the third opportunity for ACRES Co-operation participants to apply for them, and I was pleased with the level of interest shown. My Department will be issuing the decision letters on those 2025 NPI applications over the next fortnight, so farmers can then start implementing the NPIs approved in their 2025 NPI Annual Work Plans. The issue of the decision letters within six months of the closing date is a significant improvement on the timeframe within which the decisions were issued in previous years, and this quicker turnaround will give farmers more time to undertake the work.”
Referring to the approvals issued in respect of applications submitted in 2023 and 2024, the Minister added:
“I am also pleased to note that just under €7 million has been paid to 2,929 ACRES farmers to date in respect of the implementation of NPIs approved under the Annual Work Plans for both of those years. The benefit of those actions should become evident when their lands are being assessed and scored in due course for the calculation of their ACRES results-based payments.”
Concluding the announcement, the Minister advised:
“It is intended that the NPI system will open again later this year for the submission of applications. I would therefore encourage ACRES Co-operation farmers to engage with their ACRES advisors and their local ACRES Co-operation Project Team in the next few months to increase their awareness of the range of NPIs available, and of the way in which they may benefit their lands, with a view to their ACRES advisor submitting an application for NPIs on their behalf when the next application window opens."
Notes
The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is a national agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027. The Scheme is jointly funded by the European Union and the National Exchequer.
There are two approaches within the Scheme:
- ACRES General, available nationally (outside of the high priority geographical area as defined for the ACRES Co-operation approach below), which offers a range of measures (both prescription and result-based); and
- ACRES Co-operation, available to farmers in defined high priority geographical areas. The Map in Annex 1 of the ACRES Terms and Conditions for both Tranches shows the eight ACRES Co-operation zones, with an ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) Team in place in each zone to assist the participants.
Non-Productive Investments in ACRES Co-operation approach:
Non-Productive Investments (NPIs) are complementary environmental actions that are available to participants in the Co-operation approach of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) to address environmental issues on the farm, directly contribute to environmental objectives or increase the farmers capacity to improve field scores through management.
In addition to their maximum core annual payment of €7,000 (which equates to a maximum of €35,000 over the five-year period of their contracts under the Scheme), ACRES Co-operation participants may draw down additional payments of up to €17,500 in respect of the implementation of approved NPI actions by the deadline stated in the relevant decision letters. This €17,500 fund for NPIs may be supplemented with unused funding from the participant’s core annual payment.
A range of NPIs were developed by the Department in conjunction with the ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) Teams to assist with the delivery of environmental outputs/improvement at local level. The NPIs, of which there are over 40, are grouped into three categories, namely
The NPI category list and Specifications are published on the Department’s website which also has further information about where the relevant investments may be located, the amount of funding available and the associated payment rates.
An Information Sheet on NPIs is also available on the Department’s website.
NPI Application windows
There have been three application windows to date, one in late 2023, with the second application window open from 17 September 2024 to 7 November 2024, and the third application window from 5 August to 17 October 2025.
The most popular NPI actions applied for in 2025 were:
- NPI Installation of Gates
- NPI Fencing Sheep Wire
- NPI Fencing Permanent Electric
- Water Troughs
- Planting of Trees
The fourth NPI application window is scheduled to open in Quarter 3 of 2026.
NPI Application Process
- Applications for NPIs are submitted by ACRES Advisors on behalf of their clients who are participating in the ACRES Co-operation approach.
- The applications are submitted in the form of an NPI - Annual Works Plan (‘AWP’) through the Department’s Generic Land Management (GLAM) System.
- The applications are then referred to the relevant ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) Team for screening. The screening process is a legal requirement so must be completed before approvals may issue.
- Participants may not commence any investment until they have received approval.
- The ACRES participants who applied for NPIs in July-October 2025 will be able to see the decision letter on their MyAgFood account in the first instance and will get the hard copy in the post shortly thereafter. They will also be able to see their ‘ACRES CP NPI-Annual Works Plan 2025 Approval Summary’ on their MyAgFood account, with printed copies of the Approval Summary following in the post (when printed). This Summary will give them the details of the approved NPIs and include maps, by parcel, showing the location of approved NPIs on the holding. The participants will then have all the necessary information available to them to start implementing the actions as and where approved.