There are no plans to apply retrospective penalties to any farmers who take part in the rollover of the Green Low-carbon Agri-environmental Scheme (GLAS) next year, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has said.

In response to a question which asked if penalties will apply retrospectively for the first five years of GLAS or just in the rollover year, he said that is not the Department’s intention.

“It is the intention of the Department not to apply retrospectively any penalties that could be possible. They will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

“We desire that there will be minimum effort and paperwork required for farmers and for the Department. We’ll make it as practical and as accessible as possible,” he said.