Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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770. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the GLAS scheme will reopen; the number of persons to be approved for this scheme in 2016 and 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22805/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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When GLAS was approved as part of Ireland’s 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme, the overall target for GLAS was to attract 50,000 farmers into the scheme. To date some 38,000 farmers have been approved into the first two Tranches of GLAS, 26,500 in GLAS 1 and 11,500 in GLAS 2.

I plan to launch Tranche 3 of GLAS (GLAS 3) later this year with a view to maximising the participation rate subject to the available budget for the Scheme. I want to reiterate that when preparing applications for GLAS 3, it is important that farmers, in consultation with their advisers, ensure that the highest standard environmental plans are presented to the Department, to increase their chance of selection under GLAS 3.