Some 1,600 farmers with outstanding details to be submitted for their 2018 Green Low Carbon Agri-Environmental Scheme (GLAS) cannot apply for their 2019 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

Despite the fact that they are two separate schemes, when you start the online BPS application process, data will not appear for GLAS participants until after their 2018 scheme has been brought to the payment stage.

“The bulk of these cases have not received their 2018 GLAS payment due to an outstanding issue on the participant’s side and the Department is in regular contact with advisers and participants to resolve outstanding issues,” a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture told the Irish Farmers Journal.

As cases are resolved and progress to the 2018 payment stage, the data is populated on the BPS application screens on agfood.ie.

This procedure ensures that the most up-to-date data is presented on the GLAS screens

When the online application process for the 2019 BPS opened, the data for 3,200 GLAS participants was not presented.

However, by the end of last week, the Department expected that this number would have halved.

“This procedure ensures that the most up-to-date data is presented on the GLAS screens as part of the BPS application process.

"As in previous years, arrangements will be made to present the latest available data in all cases in advance of the BPS closing date,” the Department spokesperson said.

BPS 2019 opens for applications

Payments mapping review – what has changed?

Some GLAS farmers unable to apply for BPS 2019

The 2019 Basic Payment Scheme opened for applications on 20 February, but some farmers in GLAS cannot access the maps when they log on to make an application.