Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has announced that advance payments have commenced for 2022 under the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS).
Just under €113 million in payments will be made this week to just under 32,600 farmers who are participating in the GLAS programme.
The payments this week will issue to 74.8% of GLAS participants and are expected to hit farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days.
Commenting on the payments, the minister said: “I am very pleased that my department is commencing these GLAS advance payments.
“Issuing payments to farm families in a rapid manner is a key priority of mine and I am proud of our track record in this space,” he added.
“These payments are an important income boost to farmers at this time of year and, of course, are a recognition of their significant contribution to the environmental achievements in GLAS.”
These advance payments of €113 million bring the total payments made to date under the overall GLAS programme to €1.29 billion.
According to the minister, this investment will be surpassed in the incoming Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), for which €1.5 billion has been secured.
ACRES will be the direct replacement for GLAS in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
These payments will continue to issue in outstanding cases on a regular basis, the minister said.
Yesterday (Tuesday, November 15) the minister announced €15.5 million in advance payments under the Sheep Welfare Scheme.
The payments under year six of this scheme will be made to some 17,500 farmer participants in the scheme.
These payments reflect the change to the reference year that was introduced last year by the minister.
The change to the reference year “better reflects the level of activity on participants’ farms, given the passage of time since the introduction of the scheme in 2016”, the minister said.
The advance payments under the Sheep Welfare Scheme are made at a rate of 85% of the full annual payment.