Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

250. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applicants who have been admitted to tranche 1 and tranche 2 of the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS; the average annual payments he will make to persons under each tranche, including green-low carbon agri-environment scheme+ payments; the payments made to persons under the GLAS Scheme to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5395/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

26,500 farmers were approved under Tranche 1 and a further 11,500 were approved under Tranche 2 of GLAS.

To date some 21,000 GLAS Tranche 1 (GLAS 1) farmers have received a first instalment of their 2015 part year payment in respect of payable actions for the period 1 October to 31 December, representing up to 85% of the total amount due for the 2015 part year. The balancing payments are scheduled to be processed in May 2016 when all GLAS 2015 inspections have been completed. This 2015 part-year balancing payment will include the GLAS+ payments for eligible applications.

It is important to note that these part-year payments are purely in respect of actions that were applicable to 2015 and cannot be used as a basis to extrapolate the average value of a GLAS contract over a full year. Farmers will only see the full value of their contracts when payments are calculated for 2016, the first full year of their five-year contracts.

In terms of the average annual value of payments it is not possible to establish this accurately until payment claims are submitted as part of the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme process and the 2016 full year calculations and pre-payment validations are completed.