Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 May 2014
12. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will release full details of the environmental scheme GLAS and modernisation scheme TAMS II and open the schemes as soon as possible to take applications from the thousands of farmers who finished the REP scheme last year and those who will finish this December, in order to alleviate the farm income crisis. [20215/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe GLAS (Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme) and TAMS II (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme) are part of a suite of proposed measures under the new Rural Development Programme (RDP). The RDP must be submitted to the European Commission for approval.
GLAS is designed around core requirements which all applicants must satisfy. A tiered approach is being applied to entry into the Scheme and the tiers are based on a consideration of priority environmental assets and actions. In the first instance all farmers in the Measure must comply with the following list of core requirements:
(a) A Farm Advisory Service (FAS) approved agricultural planner must prepare GLAS application.
(b) Nutrient Management Plan for whole farm must be in place before payment issues.
(c) Knowledge Transfer by means of a training course for specific actions complemented by on-line demonstrations/advice on good environmental practices.
(d) Record keeping.
The tiered approach will give priority to farmers with environmental assets such as Natura site, farmland habitats and high status water areas.
The proposed maximum payment is €5,000 per annum, with the Scheme building up to the inclusion of some 50,000 farmers with a total envisaged expenditure of €1,450m over the programming period. It is also proposed that, within budget limits, a GLAS+ payment would be put in place for a limited number of farmers who take on particularly challenging actions which deliver an exceptional level of environmental benefit. It is proposed that this payment will be up to €2,000 per annum.
As far as TAMS II is concerned, the recent consultation paper published by my Department sets out a number of priorities in the case of possible on-farm investment schemes under the new Rural Development Programme. These include further support to encourage investment in the dairy sector in view of the forthcoming abolition of milk quotas; an enhanced scheme of grant-aid for young farmers; investment in low-emission slurry-spreading equipment; improvements in certain pig and poultry facilities; bio-energy; and a new farm building measure to support the construction of animal housing and slurry storage.
I intend to include further details in relation to these grants in the Rural Development Programme itself when it is finalised in the near future. EU Commission approval for the Programme will be required before any new national measures are introduced on the basis of the Programme. Accordingly, it is not possible at this stage to fix definitive dates for the introduction of the schemes concerned. In the case of both schemes, however, more detailed information will be made public very shortly, as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) process.
