Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

When the GLAS, green, low-carbon, agri-environment scheme, was introduced, there was talk about €250 million and 50,000 farmers with a payment of €5,000 per farmer. The average payment now is approximately €4,300 per farmer. Will the Minister consider opening up the scheme to allow up to 60,000 farmers avail of it? Such a move would not cost anything significantly more than the €250 million budgeted for it, but it would have a significant impact on tier three farmers who cannot currently access GLAS. It would probably also cater for all the demand.