Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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76. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision will be made on the eligibility of agricultural qualifications for green low-carbon environment scheme planners, following the BSc in management and in agriculture and environmental management; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a review is essential before the GLAS scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5066/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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EU Regulations governing the Direct Payment Schemes requires my Department to operate a Farm Advisory System (FAS) to provide advice to farmers on a range of issues relating to land and farm management. The regulations require that advisors are suitably qualified and regularly trained. In addition, in order to be approved as a GLAS Advisor, an advisor must also be an approved FAS advisor. In determining the level of educational qualifications required to be a FAS/GLAS advisor, my Department must ensure that such qualifications are of an appropriate standard to meet the objectives and the requirements of the various schemes, and the associated governing legislation, on which advice is being provided. Advisors must be qualified to interpret soil tests, understand the requirements of all schemes and understand constraints of land management imposed by various land designations. Furthermore, advisors must be in a position to translate this knowledge into detailed management plans and also advice for farmers not only on the schemes requirements but also on their farm operations.

In order to ensure that advisors meet the requirements outlined above, my Department requires that all advisors must have attained a HETAC Level 8 Bachelor Degree in Agricultural Science/Land Management in Agriculture and must have taken soil science and an animal or crop production subject to a level 8 (NFQ) degree standard.

My Department recently carried out a review of the educational qualification requirements for FAS/GLAS advisors following the receipt of appeal from Mountbellew Agricultural College/GMIT in relation to the BSc in Agriculture and Environment Management with the add-on BSc in Rural Enterprise and Environment, which had been deemed as not meeting the required standard. This review was undertaken by an officer independent of the original decision making process.

This review, which incorporated a detailed examination of all documentation submitted as part of the appeal, identified that the course did not meet the standard of educational qualifications required as some of core subjects of soil science and animal and crop production were assessed only as part of the level 7 degree. The required standard to be approved as an FAS/GLAS advisor is that these core subjects must be taken/assessed as part of a level 8 degree programme.

I am currently considering these issues further.