There are still 2,462 GLAS applicants who are waiting for their 2018 advance payments through the scheme. The average payment through the scheme is €4,155, which would mean the average 85% advance payment is €3,532. This means that a total of €8.7m is still to issue to farmers.

There has been a marked improvement in the number of farmers who have received payments in 2019, compared with the same time in 2018 when nearly 6,000 farmers in the scheme were waiting for €21m in advance payments at the end of February.

The reasons for delayed payment can vary, but were generally blamed on nutrient management plans or commonage management plans that were not completed, but these were generally only accountable for a small proportion of the delayed payments.

Another issue identified by consultants was that there was variation between maps used for GLAS and those used for the BPS application, which required some applicants to make amendments to BPS maps before they were eligible for payment.

A new mapping system is being used in Co Louth this year, with the hope that it will be rolled out countrywide in the coming years. The new system will aim to reduce inconsistencies between maps used for different schemes and many farmers will be hoping that it will eliminate the level of delayed payments that has blighted GLAS since it opened.

Clawbacks

Figures released this week show that over the lifetime of GLAS, 2,393 participants have withdrawn from the scheme. Any farmer who has withdrawn or been removed from the scheme is liable for a Department clawback of money paid to date. For farmers who are more than one year into the scheme, this could be in excess of €8,310.

Deadline to cut and burn

Time is nearly up to carry out hedge trimming or controlled burning on your farm. The deadline of 1 March applies to farmers wishing to carry out any cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction by other means of vegetation growing on uncultivated land or in hedges or ditches.