Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The choice we made around the time of the closing date for GLAS III was that we would take in everybody. It was after the budget and included in the Estimates for 2017. Given the environmental gain from the schemes and the financial benefit to individual farmers, the best thing to do was to leave in all applicants and manage the payments in order that they would all be paid. However, not all of them will receive the full payment for 2017 in the calendar year.