Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has announced the commencement of advance GLAS payments worth €166m.

Payments in the first run will reach over 33,000 participants in the scheme and will be a welcome boost to farm families after a tough year.

“I am delighted that these payments have commenced ahead of schedule and that we are paying more participants than before in the first pay run,” Minister Creed said.

“This payment of €116m is also due to my securing the agreement of the European Commission for a higher advance payment rate of 85% for 2018. These payments are a valuable support for farmers across Ireland and are a welcome boost to the wider rural economy.”

Just under 50,000 farmers are signed up in total to GLAS schemes, and issues remain for some 2,500 farmers who face exclusion from the schemes for failure to submit certain paperwork.