Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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290. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons waiting for GLAS 2016 payments due to inadequacies in his Department's software system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44801/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department has an excellent record in the delivery of high quality ICT systems.  We have been consistently among the first to make payments in the EU.

98.6% of GLAS 1 and GLAS 2 participants have received advance payments in respect of 2016. The remaining cases have been informed of the outstanding steps which they must take to receive their payments.

In terms of the balancing payments, the delay by participants in submitting their outstanding Nutrient Management Plans (NMP) is the single greatest contributory factor delaying payments. The NMP is a core scheme requirement and I urge all GLAS participants and advisors to attend to this urgently so that outstanding balancing payments and 2017 advance payments can be processed.  Some 6,000 NMPs remain outstanding and as soon as they are received payment will be processed.

This is also a major factor for the 2017 advance payments as participants will not be receiving a payments until they submit their NMP.