Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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264. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to facilitate all commonage farmers who wish to submit an application under the green low-carbon agri-environmental scheme, tier 1, by the deadline of 3 July 2015, considering no planners have yet been approved by his Department to complete the commonage management plans, as is mandatory under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14354/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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All farmers with commonage land must submit their individual application, which includes a declaration to sign up to a Commonage Management Plan, to join the GLAS scheme on or before 22 May 2015.

My Department has taken account of the concerns of Advisors regarding the time-frame for the completion of Commonage Management Plans and has ther efore allowed an extension to 3rd July, 2015 for submission of plans. An information note on the procedure and the time-lines for appointment of Commonage Advisors and the completion of Commonage Management Plans was issued to all GLAS Advisors on 13 April 2015. The process of assessing and appointing Commonage Advisors is well underway and my officials expect to appoint a number of them next week.