Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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96. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the context of an application under the green low-carbon agri-environmental scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath, the reason the person has been informed that this total landholding is virtually restricted; if same will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21206/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Habitats for geese and swans are recognised as priority environmental assets within GLAS and farmers who commit to managing and producing a suitable habitat for these farmland birds receive priority access to the scheme under Tier 1.

The maps used in defining these areas on the GLAS system have been supplied by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, who have provided the most up-to-date datasets available. In this instance, the person named has a number of land parcels which have been identified for geese and swans, and if the person named opts to join GLAS, the required action must be taken across the entire area. It is important to note that GLAS is a completely voluntary scheme and the payment rate for this action, at €202 per hectare, is designed to take full account of the income foregone by the farmer in complying with the prescription outlined in the GLAS Specification.