Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are seeking a letter of comfort on all the schemes, not just GLAS. We want to have negotiated and agreed the detail of our RDP with the Commission, but the formal process of approval takes time. In many countries, there are multiple RDPs in operation. In the United Kingdom, for example, there is a separate programme for each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We have only one RDP but the formal approval process still takes time. If we thrash out all of the remaining issues around GLAS, beef genomics and the other proposals we are working through by mid-January, we hope to get a letter of comfort in the second half of that month, which will allow us to open schemes. We will be preparing to get them open as soon as we receive the letter of comfort. As I said, the objective is that the letter will apply to all schemes, not just GLAS.

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