Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

230. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a person (details supplied) who did not qualify for tier 2 under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16492/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

An application for Tranche 2 of the GLAS Scheme for the person named was received on the dedicated GLAS online system on the 8 December 2015.

The unprecedented level of applications to the Scheme has meant that for GLAS 2, priority is being 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.

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 application by the person named was ranked as a Tier 3 application it was not selected into the scheme.

A third tranche of GLAS (GLAS 3) will open later this year and the person named and any applicant who was unsuccessful in the second tranche will have the opportunity now to re-examine their proposed farm-plan, in consultation with their advisor, and see how it might be improved to increase their chance of selection under GLAS 3. I would therefore urge all applicants to the third tranche to consider including actions which would promote their plans to higher tiers.