Minister Creed Must Intervene in Glas Payments Debacle

IFA Rural Development Chairman Joe Brady has called on the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed to intervene and resolve the debacle which has left up to 10,000 farmers without a GLAS payment. He said many of these farmers joined the scheme as far back as May 2015. Some have yet to receive a payment.

Joe Brady said, “The delays in GLAS and AEOS payments have caused a lot of concern on farms and has seriously affected cash-flow difficulties on farms. Minister Creed was left in no doubt at the IFA AGM as to the gravity of the situation and IFA now expect him to act”.

 

€97m was paid out at the end of December last, which represented 85% of the payment to 27,363 GLAS I and II farmers. It would appear that very few payments were made this week, despite commitments given that more would be made.

 

IFA estimates that a further €35m is now due as well as GLAS+ payments worth €3.6m. The remaining 15% payment will be paid from the end of February onwards when on-farm inspections have been completed by the Department of Agriculture on selected farms.

 

In relation to AEOS, Joe Brady pointed out that around 4,000 farmers are still due a payment, which for many is their last payment in the scheme, as many AEOS farmers have now moved to GLAS.