Farmers seek speedy payment of the €170m due in GLAS scheme

The IFA is urging Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to speed up the process of issuing the €170m payments due to the 38,000 farmers who have signed up for the GLAS environmental scheme.

IFA rural development chairman, Joe Brady, said that frustration is building up among farmers — some of whom joined the scheme in May 2015 but who still have not seen the value of it with a full-year payment.

Mr Brady welcomed the minister’s announcement that the scheme would open next week. He added that farmers who are contemplating joining the scheme should sit down with their consultants to devise a plan that maximises their payment.