Areas planted with wild bird cover under the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) will be eligible for Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme payments on this land in 2019 and beyond.

The Irish Farmers’ Association’s (IFA’s) rural development chairman, Joe Brady, clarified this in a statement issued today, Thursday, March 28.

Brady clarified: “These areas have been eligible for the last number of years and will continue to qualify, despite reports to the contrary in some media outlets today.”

He outlined that there may be an issue for some farmers who are under ANC appeal following the recent review.

Details in relation to the ANC Scheme for 2019 were announced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, on November 21 last year.

The rural development chairman outlined 1,500 ANC Scheme appeals have been lodged.

Brady remarked that the department has deemed GLAS wild bird cover areas eligible as part of the percentage of tillage area.

This is leading to the exclusion of some areas from the ANC Scheme, as it exceeds the threshold of 15% tillage area or impacts on the percentage of area of a townland under permanent pasture.

Concluding, the statement outlined that the IFA is meeting with department officials on this issue, and other issues, relating to the ANC review, tomorrow (Friday, March 29).