Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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206. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why an application by a person (details supplied) in County Clare was refused under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6595/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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For both GLAS 1 and GLAS 2 priority was given to what are called Tier 1 and Tier 2 candidates, i.e. those who either manage key environmental assets like endangered birds, protected habitats or high-quality water courses, or who have committed to undertake particularly valuable environmental actions like growing feed-crops for wild birds, adopting low-impact tillage techniques or using low-emission slurry spreading methods. An application for Tranche 1 of the GLAS Scheme for the person named was received on the dedicated GLAS online system on the 20 May 2015. The application was ranked as a Tier 3 application, scoring 13.50 which was below the minimum required pass mark of 16.30 and it was therefore unsuccessful for admission to the scheme. It should be noted that the Tier 3 pass mark of 16.30 was set before the GLAS 1 application closing date so advisors and applicants were aware of the pass mark before submitting their applications.

For Tranche 2 of the GLAS Scheme, an application for the person named was received on the dedicated GLAS online system on the 13 December 2015 .

Farmers had been urged to present the highest standard environmental plans under GLAS 2, and to adopt actions that would promote them from Tier 3 to a higher tier, thereby significantly increasing the chance of selection. Over 80% of applicants in this second tranche of GLAS opted to do so, and with the funding available were approved.

As the GLAS 2 application for the person named was ranked as a Tier 3 application and it was not selected into GLAS 2.

A third tranche of GLAS (GLAS 3) will open later this year. Any applicant who was previously unsuccessful has the opportunity to re-examine their proposed farm-plan, in consultation with their advisor, with a view to improving the plan to increase their chance of selection under GLAS 3 and to submit a new application for GLAS 3 when the scheme is opened.