Second application window for ACRES Landscape Actions opens 11th February 2025

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, has today announced the opening of the second application window for Landscape Actions, an innovative element within the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).

Making the announcement, the Minister commented: “An important element of ACRES is the opportunity afforded to participants in the Co-operation approach of the scheme to address specific environmental issues through landscape-scale actions. The range of landscape actions that ACRES Co-operation participants may select from has been designed to deal with issues such as invasive species, encroaching scrub management in species-rich grassland and issues affecting threatened species and water quality protection.”

“While the implementation of these Landscape Actions will benefit the overall environment or landscape”, the Minister continued: “their implementation should also assist participants to improve the habitat quality of their land, which will become evident when that land is assessed and scored under ACRES, thereby resulting in a higher payment.”

The Minister concluded by saying: “I am pleased that this, the second application window for Landscape Actions, is being opened in early 2026, so promptly after the issue of the decision letters last month in respect of applications submitted in the first application window, as it is important to maintain momentum and progress.” 

“Applications for Landscape Actions are submitted by the ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) Teams on behalf of participants in their respective areas. I therefore encourage ACRES Co-operation participants to engage with the ACRES CP Team in their area to explore the opportunities and the potential benefits available to them in the form of Landscape Actions.”

 Landscape Actions (LAs) available under ACRES Co-operation approach

• LAs are targeted measures that will focus on issues such as invasive species management, encroaching scrub, threatened species and water quality protection, thereby offering benefits to the local environment.

• These Landscape Actions have been designed to target environmental issues, which have been highlighted in the scorecards for results-based payments and are causing a reduction in the score achieved.

• The targeted implementation of these actions should improve the results-based score achieved on that field/commonage in coming years leading to an increased payment.

• The final specifications are available on the Department’s website: 1._Landscape_Actions_Final_Specifications_V1.0_January_2026.pdf

Landscape Actions (LAs) Application windows

• The first LA application window was from 18 July 2025 to 30 September 2025. Decision letters on the applications submitted in that period were issued to participants on 28 January 2026.

• The second application window opened on 11 February 2026. The closing date for applications will be advised in due course.

• It is currently proposed that the third application window for LAs will open in the third quarter of 2026.

Landscape Actions (LAs)  Application Process

• Landscape Actions are only available to participants in the ACRES Co-operation approach, who may apply for them through their local ACRES Co-operation Project (CP) Team.

• The CP Team creates and submits a Landscape Action Annual Works Plan (LA-AWP) for the ACRES Co-operation participant through the Generic Land Management (GLAM) mapping system maintained by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (‘the Department’).

• The proposed landscape actions submitted on the Annual Work Plans are then environmentally screened by the CP Team, who submit the outcome of that screening to the Department. Decision letters are then issued by the Department to the participants.  Authorisation for approved LA actions is from the date of issue of the LA-AWP Decision letter.

• LAs must not be undertaken in advance of receiving the decision letter as approval is subject to the outcome of the environmental screening and validation of the application.

Press release by Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Issued 11th February 2026.