Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has admitted that approval for Ireland’s rural development programmes, including GLAS, is unlikely to be forthcoming from the European Commision within the first two month of 2015.

As a result, Minister Coveney to hoping to obtain a “letter of comfort” from the Commission in mid-January indicating that the it is happy with GLAS and the other RDP schemes.

The Minister said that if he gets the letter, he is confident that the Department of Finance will give the go-ahead for the schemes to open in February.

Addressing TDs in the Dáil, Coveney said that he has discussed the matter with European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan and checked it from a legal perspective.

“I am hoping to get the letter of comfort in January so that we can open schemes toward the end of the month or in early February. The green low-carbon agri-environment scheme is a priority because people are anxious to get on with it, but we are seeking the same assurances regarding the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme and a range of other supports.”

“It is a realistic timeframe to seek to have the letter of comfort early in the new year, with a view to obtaining formal rural development programme approval later. In the meantime, we can get schemes open, which is really what farmers are seeking. I am being as blunt and open as I can be on this.”