Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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449. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to re-open the GLAS scheme for new entrants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49236/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The target set out in the Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020 to approve 50,000 GLAS participants before the end of 2018 has already been achieved. The fact that the RDP target has been achieved almost two years ahead of schedule is a significant achievement on the part of both farmers and my Department, and is evidence of the commitment of Irish farmers to the sustainable growth of the Irish agri-food sector into the future.

There are no plans to re-open the scheme. My focus now is on ensuring that payments to these participants are processed and my Department is working hard to begin making these 2017 advance payments in the coming weeks. The GLAS scheme is one of a suite of many RDP schemes and the re-opening of any scheme can only be considered within the overall RDP budget which is currently fully committed.