Written answers

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

GLAS Eligibility

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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161. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which payments under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme continue to be made available and accessible to the farming community; if restrictions are likely to impede the drawing down of the benefits under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12737/15]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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GLAS aims to deliver overarching benefits in terms of the rural environment and address issues of climate change mitigation, water quality and the preservation of habitats and species. It is designed to specifically target environmental priorities, but there is also provision to accept applications from farmers with no such priorities, but who are committed to carrying out general environmental actions on their holdings. Access to the scheme is therefore by means of three Tiers, which will allow the most pressing environmental priorities to be addressed in order of importance, but also provides for a broad approach to delivering environmental benefits across all farming systems. In Tier 1, all farmers with Priority Environmental Assets (PEAs) get first priority access to the Scheme in year one and subsequent years. If any of the following PEAs are applicable to the holding, they must be chosen and the relevant actions planned.

- Farmland Habitat (private Natura sites)

- Farmland Birds (Twite, Breeding Waders, Chough, Geese/swans, Corncrake, Grey Partridge, Hen Harrier)

- Commonages

- High Status Water Area

- Rare Breeds

In the absence of any of the listed PEAs, a farmer (whether beef, sheep or dairy) with a whole farm stocking-rate exceeding 140kg organic Nitrogen per hectare, or any farmer with more than 30 hectare of arable crops, will be considered under Tier 1 if he or she adopts at least one of four mandatory actions identified for them. Registered Organic farmers will qualify for priority access to the scheme under Tier 1, by selecting actions appropriate to the farm.

Under Tier 2, farmers who do not have Priority Environmental Assets but whose lands include a Vulnerable Water Area, may apply for access to the scheme. In the absence of a Vulnerable Water Area, an applicant may still qualify for Tier 2 access provided that they choose one of four mandatory actions identified.

Tier 3 sets out a list of actions which can be adopted in addition to actions laid down in Tiers 1 or 2, providing a means by which farmers can maximise their GLAS payment. Tier 3 also provides a mechanism by which farmers who do not fulfil any of the criteria for Tiers 1 or 2, can apply to join GLAS.

The structure of GLAS, therefore, while targeted closely at specific priority environmental objectives, also contains considerable flexibility and the scope to attract a wide range of farmers.

Photo of Michael FitzmauriceMichael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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162. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will consider splitting land parcels for the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme as it is not ideal for smaller farms as currently constituted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12750/15]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There is specific provision within the online GLAS system to split parcels. In fact, the facility is there to split a n existing parcel into as many as three new parcels to deliver up to three separate area-based actions. By way of example, a 12 hectare parcel could be split to deliver a combination of Traditional Hay Meadow, Low Input Permanent Pasture and Wild Bird Cover, generating an annual payment of just under €5,000. The adviser can do this, online, on behalf of his or her client. Where a parcel is not split, one area based action may be selected together with certain linear actions and again it should be possible in most cases to choose a combination which delivers the best rate of payment to the farmer .

It is a key requirement in the approval process of the Rural Development Plan that all proposed actions are verifiable and controllable and my Department’s online system for GLAS has been designed with this very much in mind. This is the reason why only certain combinations of actions are allowed on each parcel , and these have been pre-populated into the online system which should significantly reduce error-rates later . The overall objective is to reduce the possibility of penalties for the farmer down the line.

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