How EIP-AGRI Operational Groups are funded in Ireland

EIP-AGRI Operational Groups bring farmers, researchers, advisers and other partners together to develop and test practical responses to agricultural and rural challenges. In Ireland, projects are supported through the CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027: the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine runs themed competitive calls in three phases — a short expression of interest, a detailed project plan, then implementation over three to five years. The call documents and the grant agreement are the authority for the exact conditions, money and evidence required.

EAFRD · CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027 (cooperation, Art. 77)Reg. (EU) 2021/2115 · Arts. 77 and 127 · Reg. (EU) 2021/2116 (financing, management and monitoring)Set per call — up to €650,000 per project and up to €10,000 for a Phase 2 plan in the 2024 animal health and welfare call · 23 projects funded by September 2025

CountryIrelandParent funding frameworkIreland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027EU policy areaCommon Agricultural PolicyProgramme categoryAgriculture, Rural Development and InnovationProgramme levelNational implementation of an EU framework

One programme, too many disconnected records. Delivery notes, partner decisions, expenditure, results and reporting evidence often sit in different places.

How the money reaches an organisation

Every level here can be asked for its own process map. That is the point of yours.

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European Commission — DG Agriculture and Rural Development

Sets the EIP-AGRI framework in Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 — cooperation under Art. 77, the European Innovation Partnership under Art. 127; approves and co-finances Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan through the EAFRD; clears the paying agency’s annual accounts.

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Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Managing Authority of the CAP Strategic Plan and Ireland’s accredited Paying Agency for CAP funds. Publishes the themed EIP calls, runs the evaluation committees, signs the grant agreements, pays the farmers and the group’s administrative costs, and runs the checks.

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Irish CAP Network

Supports applicants and funded groups: a webinar before Phase 1, briefings before Phase 2 and at implementation, and help sharing results. Support, not decisions.

👉 Your organisation sits at this level

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Operational Group — lead partner and partners

At least two bodies based in Ireland — farmers, advisers, researchers, NGOs, businesses — with one lead partner. The lead partner applies, signs and reports; the group sets its own transparent decision rules and avoids conflicts of interest.

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Farmers and the people who can use the result

Farmers in the group trial the idea and are paid for taking part where the plan provides for it; results are published for everyone else. In CAP rules the “beneficiary” is the body that receives the grant — here the group’s lead partner.

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Controls and audit

Project level: the Department’s administrative checks and inspections under the CAP Strategic Plan control regime, with reporting in the format it sets. Fund level: the Department, as Paying Agency, prepares the annual EAGF/EAFRD accounts and a management declaration under Reg. (EU) 2021/2116; an independent certifying body — a professional accountancy firm — certifies them; the European Commission clears the accounts. Alongside: the Comptroller and Auditor General audits the Department’s Vote, and the European Court of Auditors audits the EU budget.

Process maps under this programme

EIP-AGRI Operational Groups — IrelandTo road-test a new idea on Irish farms with the people who will use it — farmers, advisers, researchers — so that what works can be used more widely, and what was paid for can be shown.

Where this came from

Human reviewed2026-09-07Automatically checked2026-10-12Current source statusSource changed — human review requiredPublished content remains based on the last human-reviewed version.

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 — Art. 77 cooperation, Art. 127 European Innovation Partnership — Official Journal of the European UnionA · Governing source checkedAuto: review needed
Regulation (EU) 2021/2116 — financing, management and monitoring of the CAP (paying agencies, certification bodies, clearance of accounts) — Official Journal of the European UnionA · Governing source checkedAuto: review needed
Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027, as amended (Sixth Amendment approved by the European Commission) — Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarineA · Governing source checkedAuto: unavailable
European Innovation Partnerships — Second Competitive Call for Proposals under the CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027: Guidelines for First Phase Applicants (three phases, selection criteria, up to €10,000 for a Phase 2 plan, up to €650,000 per project, 3–5 years) — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, April 2024B · Official operational guidance checkedAuto: unchanged
Operational Groups — what they are, how they are funded under CAP Strategic Plans, the duty to disseminate results — EU CAP NetworkB · Official operational guidance checkedAuto: unchanged
Corporate Governance Framework — the Department as the national accredited Paying Agency for CAP funds; EU accounts audited by an independent certifying body — Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarineB · Official operational guidance checkedAuto: review needed
Ministers announce further open calls for European Innovation Partnerships on Generational Renewal and Digital Technologies — how the calls and Operational Groups work — Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarineC · Official secondary sourceAuto: unavailable
Ireland’s EIP-Agri Operational Groups 2023–2027 — 23 projects, four to five years, the Department funds farmer payments and group administration — CAP Network Ireland, 12 September 2025C · Official secondary sourceAuto: changed
Appropriation Account 2024, Vote 30 Agriculture, Food and the Marine — an independent certifying body, a professional accountancy firm, certifies the annual EAGF and EAFRD accounts — Office of the Comptroller and Auditor GeneralC · Official secondary sourceAuto: review needed

Read against the source on 2026-09-07. This is the human-reviewed version.

What that check changed: Reviewed and updated on 7 September 2026; 9 sources are listed below. This is a programme-level map of the Department’s three-phase competitive call, drawn from the 2024 call guidelines. The control chain is taken from the Department’s own governance framework and the Comptroller and Auditor General’s Vote 30 account: the Department is the accredited Paying Agency, an independent certifying body certifies the EAGF/EAFRD accounts, and the Commission clears them.

Independent process overview based on publicly available information. It is not official guidance and is not endorsed by the European Union, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the National CAP Network or any programme delivery body. Requirements may vary by call and project. Users must verify current conditions against the applicable programme documents and grant agreement.