Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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565. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide details of the recently announced green low carbon agri-environmental scheme; the expected duration of the scheme; the expected numbers per annum; and the expected spend per annum over the duration of the scheme. [2709/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I recently announced funding for a substantial new agri-environment scheme GLAS (Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme) under the Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020. The scheme provides for a maximum payment of €5,000 for up to 50,000 farmers, and a further payment of up to €2,000 for a limited number of farmers who take on particularly challenging environmental actions. The proposed minimum contract is five years. The outline of the GLAS Scheme, details of which have been published in the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014 -2020 Draft Consultation Programme, is now subject to further consultation with various stakeholders. Following that process, formal proposals will be drafted for submission to the European Commission. It is my intention to prioritise this work in order to gain EU approval at the earliest possible date to facilitate roll out of the scheme.