Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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4. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will ensure that no commonage farmer will be excluded from access to GLAS by the 50% threshold; that all commonage land will qualify for the €120 per hectare payment; if he will ensure that GLAS is open for application at an early date to ensure that farmers are eligible for a full year's payment in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35261/14]

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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There is much concern and disquiet relating to the commonage aspect of the GLAS scheme. When commonage is owned by shareholders, each of whom has mapped and registered holdings, but boundaries are not fenced, it is known as unenclosed privately owned land. The proposed GLAS payment for nature sites and such land is €75 per hectare rather than €120, which applies to commonage land in public ownership. There is an anomaly and I ask the Minister to address the matter to ensure the maximum payment applies to everyone concerned.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I fixed the rate of payment at €120 per hectare and this is a major increase on what was payable under the previous programme - €75 per hectare. There is an overall ceiling of €5,000 per annum under GLAS so the rate proposed is payable to that point. When a commonage farmer has other priority environmental assets on his or her privately owned land, he or she may qualify for GLAS plus if the combination of this and his commonage actions pushes him or her over the €5,000 ceiling. The new scheme is currently before the European Commission for approval as part of the overall rural development programme. Once approval is granted, my Department will open the scheme as soon as possible.

If an anomaly exists between publicly owned land and privately owned commonage, I am not aware of it but I will examine the issue. I do not think this is an issue.

I will check the issue given that the Deputy raised it. My understanding is we have made a decision on the GLAS programme for all commonage that the payment will be €120 per hectare. I will check and come back to the Deputy.

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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It is also essential that the Minister ensures all rules and regulations are tied up within a short time and that the scheme is expedited to give the planners an opportunity. It must also be sent to the EU Commission as speedily as possible to ensure farmers qualify for their payments at an early date in the new year. Sustaining viability in farming is dependent on the success of GLAS and being able to qualify for the full €7,000 with regard to the top-up payment. It needs to be simplified to give people the maximum opportunity to obtain the total benefit. Will the Minister ensure it is streamlined?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It went to the Commission in the first week in July and we expect a draft response on 3 October. If the Commission has any problems, there will be negotiations. This is with regard to the overall rural development programme and not just GLAS. GLAS is a big part of it but it is only one part because it also includes island communities, disadvantaged area payments, targeted agriculture modernisation scheme payments and young farmer supports.

Some people have been quite critical of entry to GLAS. When the scheme is fully up and running, it will spend €260 million a year. It is a huge environmental scheme and a massive initiative. We hope to have between 25,000 and 30,000 farmers in the scheme in its first year. We hope to be able to launch it in December, or earlier if we can. We have spoken to farming organisations and agricultural consultants and planners. They need at least five months to prepare all of the farmers' applications for the scheme because if we want to include between 25,000 and 30,000 farmers, it means 35,000 or 40,000 farmers could apply. This means that potentially one third of all farmers in Ireland could apply for GLAS. It will take a lot of management to ensure all of the applications get in on time given the fact that outside of Teagasc there are only 400 planners in the country. There is a big job to be done. We will then need to assess all of the applications. If we receive all of the applications by May or June, the assessment procedure will take until September and we hope to start payments under the new scheme by the end of next year. This is the timetable agreed by all the farm bodies because everybody wants to include as many farmers as we can. I could do it much quicker if I was only including 6,000 or 7,000 farmers, but people want to include as many farmers as we can, as do I. Many farmers are coming out of REPS and want a new scheme quickly. We will do it as fast as we can but it is a big job.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Does Deputy Fleming have another question?

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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I wish to ask the Minister the position regarding the issues farmers are facing with regard to land eligibility penalties.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I meant that the Deputy is entitled to another supplementary question on this matter.

Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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Given the dilemma facing farmers because of the Russian sanctions on food and a general reduction in their incomes, I take it that the Minister is sincere in his efforts to advance the scheme as quickly as possible. I ask him to keep a focus on it and ensure farmers receive their rightful moneys at an early stage.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I will respond, to give Deputy Ó Cuív a chance to deal with Question No. 5. Of course we are responding to all types of challenges to agriculture this year. There has been much pressure on the beef industry, as Deputy Fleming knows. There may well be pressure on dairy prices over the next six or eight months. There is pressure on some arable farmers, although they have had great weather and very good harvests with regard to yield and quality.

Price has not been good in that sector. Of course we have the Russian-imposed ban on certain agrifood products. Of course we want to get payments out as soon as we can. That is why we will get a very significant portion of the disadvantaged areas scheme payments out this week. That is also why we are making the case to get the single farm payment out by the middle of next month or at least a 50% advance payment. It is also why we want to get GLAS opened up as soon as we can. I am not in the business of hanging on to money and resources that I should get out to farmers, but we must have systems that can do that credibly.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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We return to Deputy Ó Cuív's first priority question, Question No. 2.