Farmers are being short-changed by €380m by GLAS, according to Charlie McConalogue.

The Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesman says the money allocated to GLAS cannot be allowed to go unspent. He wants to see a new GLAS tranche and increased suckler cow and ANC payments.

The total allocation for GLAS from 2014 to 2020 is €1.4bn. However, McConalogue has been long highlighting the inevitability of a significant underspend.

In total, there are 49,875 participants in GLAS, receiving on average €4,250 in each of the five years of the plan. This means the spend for the years 2017-2020 will be almost €212m/annum, well under the €250m (50,000 farmers at €5,000 each) allocated in the RDP. In total, the spend will reach slightly over €1bn when GLAS III farmers finish the scheme in 2021. This leaves an underspend of almost €380m.

McConalogue is proposing a number of ways to use the money.

“Firstly, reopen the GLAS scheme to new entrants. There are thousands of farmers who would like a chance to join.

“Some people were not in a position to join the scheme previously. Some farmers wanted to finish out existing AEOS plans first. Many hill farmers felt unable to sign up to GLAS previously as commonage framework agreements were not finalised. They might now have more trust in GLAS, which can be worth up to €7,000 each.”

Suckler money

McConalogue also wants unused funds re-allocated to other elements of the RDP. “The money could be used to support suckler farmers, with an increased BGDP payment.

“I believe the funding is there to work towards delivery of €200 on the first 20 cows.”

This would be a significant increase on the current €90/cow for the first 10 cows and €80 thereafter – worth an extra €2,200 to a farmer with 20 cows or more.

Fianna Fáil also wants to see an increased fund for ANC payments. “The scope is there to fully restore payment to pre-2008 levels,” says McConalogue.

“The debate around the next CAP starts in earnest this week, and will require a huge national effort for a good outcome for Irish farmers. However, the Government is failing to deliver on its commitments under the current CAP, with hundreds of millions of farmers’ money set to be unused. It’s simply not acceptable.”