Payments to date under the Green Low Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) have now exceeded the €1 billion mark, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has announced.

Initially launched in 2015, there are some 50,000 GLAS contracts currently active, according to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

GLAS supports over 30 actions designed to benefit biodiversity, climate change mitigation and improve water quality.

According to DAFM figures, some of the key environmental measures carried out include:

  • GLAS farmers manage over 250,000ha of Low Input Permanent Pasture;
  • Over 60,000ha of Traditional Hay Meadows;
  • Protect the quality of over 14,000km of watercourses;
  • The support of the management and grazing of over 228,000ha of commonage and successfully protects rare breed populations and bird, bee and bat habits.

From an economic perspective, the scheme supports farm incomes with total payments to date to Irish farmers reaching €1.006 billion, the department says.

GLAS farmers receive up to €5,000 per annum under the general scheme with provision for payment up to €7,000 where the farmer is positioned to give exceptional environmental returns.

Almost 3,400 GLAS participants quality for the GLAS PLUS extra payment. The scheme has “also provided a knowledge resource to Irish farmers with training undertaken by all GLAS participants”, DAFM says.

Minister McConalogue was joined by former Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney, who initially launched the scheme, in marking this milestone.

Minister McConalogue paid tribute to another former Minister Michael Creed who also “ensured that GLAS was a success”.

Commenting, Minister McConalogue said the scheme “has been a two-fold success”, adding:

“It has helped Irish farmers produce in an efficient and sustainable manner while supporting incomes and it has also [helped in] protecting and enhancing our biodiversity.

“Our experience will help us build for the future and help us identify what value we can bring to our next national agri-environmental scheme. Farm incomes have been supported under GLAS with over €1 billion paid directly to farmers to date.

“The development of the new CAP is an exciting opportunity to build on this success and to deliver on new and challenging targets.

“Both Ministers Coveney and Creed played a key role in making GLAS a success.

“GLAS has been a tremendous scheme and as part of the next CAP programme, I am committed to bringing and even more ambitious agri-environmental scheme that will support our farmers and protect our environment.”

Turning to the future, DAFM says that details of the Agriculture, Food and the Marine Action Plan 2021 can be found here.