Written answers

Thursday, 9 March 2017

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

GLAS Payments

Photo of Peter BurkePeter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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10. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of GLAS payments which were due for payment in 2016 that have been received by applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12190/17]

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) has a maximum annual payment of €5,000 under the general scheme with provision for payment up to €7,000 (known as GLAS+) where the farmer is required to give exceptional environmental commitments in a limited number of cases. Applications under the first two tranches of the GLAS scheme resulted in almost 38,000 farmers being approved into the scheme in its first year of implementation which represented an unprecedented level of interest in the first year of an agri-environment scheme. A further, just under 14,000 applications, were received under GLAS 3 which closed in mid-December last. Approvals have now issued in respect of over 90% of these applications, with the remaining applications currently being examined by the Department with a view to issuing further approvals where appropriate. This will bring the overall participation levels in GLAS to well over the targeted participation level of 50,000 farmers.

Under the EU Regulations governing GLAS and the Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS) a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. 

My Department as the accredited Paying Agency must ensure that, before payment issues, everything in an application that can be checked is checked as required under the regulations. Therefore, payments can only issue where all the required validation checks have been successfully passed.

2016 payments represent the first full year of payment under GLAS. At the end of December 2016, there were approximately 37,500 active participants in the GLAS scheme, of which 27,400 or over 71% received payments valued at over €97m, representing 85% of their 2016 payment.

As issues with outstanding GLAS cases are resolved they are being paid in weekly payment runs. Further payments are issuing on a weekly basis with payments valued at over €110m now issued and over 84% of participants now paid. Further payments are issuing on a weekly basis.

Currently some 25,578 farmers are active GLAS 1 and a further 11,577 are active in GLAS 2 of which 21,686 in GLAS 1 and 9,524 in GLAS 2, have successfully completed the GLAS prepayment checks in respect of the 2016 scheme year and a first payment instalment of 85% has issued. 

The current position is that 3832 farmers in GLAS 1 and 2,053 farmers in GLAS 2 have yet to receive their payment and their applications continue to be processed to payment stage, where appropriate.

Outstanding payments under both GLAS 1 and GLAS 2 are largely delayed due to declaration of incompatible parcel usage on the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application for a chosen GLAS action; changes in parcel boundaries on which a GLAS action is chosen including splitting or merging of parcels; an applicant no longer claiming a parcel on their 2016 BPS; incomplete documentation such as incorrect information on Low-Emission Slurry Declaration forms, incomplete interim commonage management plans and incompatible data and parcel history on Department databases.

Payments under the Scheme will continue to issue on an ongoing basis as issues are resolved and cases are cleared for payment. 

I am well aware of the need to process all 2016 payments without delay and are ensuring that all resources required both on the I.T. and administrative side are directed towards resolving the outstanding queries on these cases. 

In relation to the online application system for GLAS, I would point out that it will in fact be a mandatory regulatory requirement under the governing regulations from the 2018 claim year onward to have on online system. The Department launched an ambitious development programme to move to an online application and payment processing system for the GLAS scheme.  Compared to our closest neighbours, where farmer interest in agri-environment schemes is also very strong, this is a significant achievement as these areas remain in the early stages of approving applications.

In the context of the recently launched consultation process on the future of the CAP it is in Ireland’s interests that we have a fully developed robust electronic processing and payment system that will give the necessary assurances that disbursement of EU funds is managed to the highest standards. Not only will this act as a protection against potential disallowances in this programming period but will also serve to strengthen our position in negotiating funding for a future agri-environment Scheme in the next programming period.

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