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

Under the EU regulations governing the green, low-carbon, agri-environment scheme, GLAS, and the agri-environment options scheme, AEOS, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the land parcel identification system, must be completed before any payment can issue.  My Department, as the accredited paying agency, must ensure that, before payment issues, everything in an application that can be checked is checked as required under the regulations. Therefore, payments can only issue where all the required validation checks have been successfully passed.

In regard to 2016 payments, under AEOS, the previous agri-environment scheme, just over 8,600 AEOS participants were due a payment. AEOS 2 participants completed their five-year contracts on 31 December 2016. Under the EU regulations governing this scheme and all other area-based payment schemes, a full check, including cross-checks with the land parcel identification system, must take place before the final payment can issue. As all AEOS 2 participants will be receiving their final payments under the scheme, re-checks on payments made for all scheme years must be completed before final payment can be processed. This is the same procedure as applied to AEOS 1 participants finishing in that scheme.

To date, AEOS 2016 payments amounting to over €22 million have issued. The remaining cases are currently being checked and payments will continue to issue on an ongoing weekly basis as these cases are cleared. A total of 84 farmers in County Wexford were due a 2016 payment in AEOS, of whom 51 have been paid and 33 are awaiting payment.

The 2016 payments represent the first full year of payment under GLAS. At the end of December 2016 there were approximately 37,500 active participants in the GLAS scheme, of which 27,400, or over 71%, received payments valued at over €97 million, representing 85% of their 2016 payment. As issues with outstanding GLAS cases are resolved, they are being paid in weekly payment runs. Further payments are issuing on a weekly basis, with payments valued at over €110 million now issued and over 84% of participants now paid. Further payments are issuing on a weekly basis.

Some 778 farmers in County Wexford are active in GLAS 1 and a further 271 are active in GLAS 2, of which 627 in GLAS 1 and 227 in GLAS 2 have successfully completed the GLAS prepayment checks in respect of the 2016 scheme year and a first payment instalment of 85% has issued. The current position is that 151 farmers in GLAS 1 and 44 farmers in GLAS 2 have yet to receive their payment and their applications continue to be processed.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Outstanding payments under both GLAS 1 and GLAS 2 are largely delayed due to declaration of incompatible parcel usage on the basic payment scheme application for a chosen GLAS action; changes in parcel boundaries on which a GLAS action is chosen, including splitting or merging of parcels; an applicant no longer claiming a parcel on their 2016 basic payment scheme; incomplete documentation such as incorrect information on low-emission slurry declaration; incomplete interim commonage management plans; and incompatible data and parcel history on Department databases.

Payments under the scheme will continue to issue on an ongoing basis as issues are resolved and cases are cleared for payment.

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