Commonage farmers face being locked out of GLAS in 2015 unless the timeline for completing commonage management plans are extended. The first Department information meetings got underway in Westport and Kenmare this week.

The key blockage was the ability of planners to complete the plans before the deadline of 31 May 2015, as farmers were told that an agreement has to be in place to allow farmers access to the scheme. Planners called for the deadline to be extended to 1 September, to allow time for plans to be properly drawn up.

The other thorny issue to emerge is who will pay for the plans, especially when large commonages are stocked by a small number of farmers.

Farmers were given the good news that €38m will flow into commonages, as their direct payments are boosted by convergence. However, they were left in no doubt that they must actively farm the commonages to get access to any payments.

Figures revealed that over half of active commonage farmers did not receive a Grassland Sheep Payment in 2013 – an indication that they had no sheep at all.

With the new Basic Scheme payments increased, commonage farmers could see payment rise to €370/ha for up to 42ha in 2019, when GLAS and the new areas of natural constraints (ANCs) are included.