Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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271. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the green low-carbon agri-environmental scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6825/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The new rules referred to apply on a number of GLAS actions, including Low Input Permanent Pasture, and the over-riding concern is to protect farmland birds, whose nesting period commences from early March onwards.

However, the Draft GLAS Specification allows topping to take place any time from 15^th July to 15^thMarch. This is in fact a relaxation of the rules which applied previously under AEOS, where topping could not take place on parcels in receipt of the similar AEOS Species Rich Grassland payment until after 15^thJuly up until the end of the year in question. The relaxation of the rules for GLAS is specifically designed to help with areas of marginal land where rushes may be prevalent and need to be topped early in the year.