Almost €600,000 in balancing payments are now issuing to 2,831 farmers who participated in the Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme Plus (GLAS+) in 2022.

GLAS+ paid farmers up to €2,000 of a top-up to the normal GLAS payment for carrying out certain particularly challenging environmental actions.

The balancing payments represent the last 15% of the GLAS+ payment these farmers are due.

Most who participated in GLAS did so through the regular scheme route and balancing payments have been issuing since March to these farmers.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue stated that the new Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) will see even more funds allocated to farmers carrying out environmental measures.

“Today’s payment of almost €600,000 brings to over €1.36bn the total payments made to date in respect of GLAS,” the Minister said.

“This investment will be surpassed with the ACRES scheme, where I have secured €1.5bn for this new flagship environmental scheme.

“I was delighted to have secured places for 46,000 farmers in ACRES tranche 1 and I look forward to seeing the scheme being implemented in the coming months.”