Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2017
525. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has issued any guidelines on the optimum sustainable management of heather and other palatable vegetation on uplands and commonages; if these can be accessed online by an alternative method; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8142/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraCommonage farmers who wished to join GLAS, which is Pillar 2 scheme under the 2014 – 2020 Rural Development Programme, received priority access into the scheme and for their commonage lands they receive a payment rate of €120 per hectare. The payment rate is based on the significant agri-environment benefits that arise from appropriate management of commonage lands which represent over 400,000 hectares of land in Ireland with approximately 15,000 farmers making an annual Basic Payment Claim application on commonage lands.
Any commonage farmer who opts to join GLAS, which is voluntary scheme, must sign up to the Commonage Management Plans (CMP) being drawn up by approved GLAS advisors for the commonages on which they have a share. The CMP is drawn up in consultation with each of the GLAS participants. An integral part of the management plan is to determine the appropriate stocking rate that each GLAS participant must meet annually to ensure that the commonage is appropriately grazed with each participant required to have a grazing enterprise on an annual basis. In addition, the GLAS Advisors in consultation with the GLAS participants may outline other management activities that may be required on the commonage, for example control of dumping and/or invasive species to ensure that the agri-environment benefits of commonage can be maximised. In August 2015, the Department released a Guide to the completion of the GLAS Commonage Plan with the Department's online Commonage Management Plan system to be released shortly.
With regard to land eligibility, the Department issues detailed requirements each scheme year in the Basic Payment Scheme Terms and Conditions booklet, which issues to all applicants under the various area-based schemes.
