Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am here to answer for everyone.

I am pleased with the level of payments made in the past three months. Almost €1.7 billion has issued to farmers in that time, which is the highest amount ever paid. Indeed, Ireland leads other member states in terms of our implementation of the rural development programme and has the second highest drawdown rate of EU funds.

GLAS is the most popular scheme ever run under a rural development programme in Ireland. The original target of 50,000 participants was surpassed well ahead of the target date, such is the popularity of the scheme. Given that the first approvals under the scheme run from 1 October 2015, it is a remarkable achievement to have exceeded this target within a period of 15 months.

GLAS has a maximum annual payment of €5,000 under the general scheme with provision for a payment of up to €7,000, known as GLAS+, where the farmer is required to give exceptional environmental commitments in a limited number of cases. Last year, we paid out almost €200 million under GLAS and have continued payments each week into the new year.

Like previous agri-environment schemes, GLAS supports participants in improving their agricultural productivity and practices in a sustainable manner. The scheme delivers overarching benefits to the rural environment and addresses the issues of the mitigation of the impacts of climate change, the enhancement of biodiversity and the improvement of water quality. It provides valuable support to participants who deliver public goods and environmental benefits that enhance the sustainability credentials of Irish agriculture.

The scheme is co-funded by the national Exchequer and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, EAFRD. As required under EU regulation, two payments issue in respect of each year, these being, the advance payment followed at a later stage by a balancing payment. In 2016 and again in 2017, the advance payment represented 85% of the annual payment with the balancing payment being 15%. In 2017, advance payments commenced on schedule in November and continue to be made on an ongoing basis as tranches of cases are cleared.

There are 49,700 active participants in GLAS. By the end of this week, more than 40,000 of these will have received their 2017 advance payments, valued at €161 million. This represents over 87% of farmers eligible for a 2017 advance payment.

In more than 3,000 of the outstanding cases, applicants remain ineligible for payment until they complete the steps that they must take before the Department can process their payments. There is nothing that we can do to advance these payments until the applicants complete their obligations. In most of these cases, this relates to outstanding documentation, which they must submit. As soon as this is received and assuming everything is in order, my Department will move immediately to issue payments.

The main issues include the need for advisers to submit farm nutrient management plans to the dedicated online system, commence commonage management plans in the case of participants with a commonage action and submit the required documentation in the case of the low-emission slurry spreading and rare breed actions.

To be clear, many of these payments are not delayed, as has been suggested. It is simply the case that it is not possible for the Department to make them.

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