A series of 14 information meetings on the Basic Payment Scheme (Pillar I) and the GLAS scheme (Pillar II) will be held around the country this month to help farmers deal with the implications of CAP reform and the completion of their 2015 application. These meetings will be hosted by Department staff from Monday 9 March to Tuesday 31 March.

The initial meeting venues, shown in the table above, involve nighttime public meetings. However, farmers should note that the Department staff will be present in the same venues on the afternoon before these meetings to deal with queries from individuals. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals to deal with greening queries and other online application issues relating to their 2015 application.

Announcing the details of the meetings, Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney TD, said: “This is an important opportunity for farmers to inform themselves on the key elements of the new CAP reform and to obtain information and advice in relation to all the new schemes. Farmers involved in greening and online application can obtain advice on a one-to-one basis from Department staff during the afternoons.”

The first of these information meetings takes place next week (9-13 March) at the venues shown in the table above.

Further meetings will take place in Wexford, Tipperary, Cork, Killarney, Limerick, Galway, Castlebar, Sligo and Cavan and the details of the dates and venues will be issued shortly.