Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Both the GLAS and AEOS agri-environment schemes provide valuable support to farmers to deliver environmental benefits and public goods which will enhance Ireland's sustainability credentials into the future. They provide support to Irish farmers aimed at enhancing biodiversity, water quality and the mitigation of the future impacts of climate change while allowing Irish farmers to improve their agricultural practices.

The GLAS scheme is the latest agri-environment scheme available to farmers and is part of Ireland’s Rural Development Plan 2014-2020.  To date in excess of 50,000 farmers have had applications approved into the Scheme under three different tranches over a fourteen month period. The approval of this level of farmers into the Scheme has been achieved a year ahead of the original target set when the Scheme was launched.

I firmly believe that this level of participation in GLAS demonstrates Irish farmers commitment to the sustainable growth of the Irish agri-food sector into the future. It clearly shows that Irish producers recognise that future growth must be based on the principle that economic benefits are complementary, compatible and equal to the environmental protection and enhancement of the resources needed to produce the high quality, safe and healthy produced by them. 

The commitment of Irish farmers to sustainable agriculture production and the protection of the environment is fully supported by the financial provisions in the RDP 2014-2020. So while the full annual expenditure for GLAS will only be known when 2017 payments for all three tranches of the scheme (GLAS 1, 2 and 3) have been processed together for the first time in the final quarter of this year, I am confident that all of the expenditure provided for in Ireland's RDP 2014-2020 for agri-environment measures will be used.