Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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380. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will urgently open a round of GLAS to accommodate the 14,000 farmers who have not been able to apply to the ACRES scheme but were part of GLAS in previous years. [14504/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Green Low Carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS) was the main agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. GLAS is closed and may not be re-opened, as there is a new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in place for the period 2023 to 2027.

Each Member State was accordingly required to prepare a new CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) in which it outlined the range of interventions it would put in place to address the various CAP objectives. The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is the current agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s CSP and is the successor to GLAS.

The Government has committed €1.5 billion to ACRES over its duration with the aim of- facilitating the participation of 50,000 farmers. Like GLAS, intake into ACRES is being phased, with at least two tranches. Approval letter issued recently to all valid applications submitted for Tranche 1 of the Scheme.

I was pleased recently to provide for intake of 46,000 farmers into ACRES for 2023. The final year of GLAS also had just over 46,000 participants so there is no real difference in the amount of farmers participating.

Farmers who were not in a position to apply for Tranche 1 of ACRES will have an opportunity to apply for the Scheme in Tranche 2. It is proposed that Tranche 2 will open for applications later this year with contracts in that Tranche to commence from 1 January 2024.