Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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252. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason 13,000 persons were not allowed to join under tranche 2 of the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme given his statement at Budget time that 13,000 farmers would be allowed join under tranche 2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5397/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The overall target for GLAS is to attract 50,000 farmers into the scheme. In October 2015 the second application tranche was launched with the objective of increasing overall participation levels to at least 35,000 and possibly up to 40,000 and I am pleased to confirm that some 38,000 farmers have now been approved into the scheme.

The unprecedented level of applications to the Scheme has meant that for the second tranche of GLAS (GLAS 2), priority was given to Tier 1 and Tier 2 candidates, i.e. those who either manage key environmental assets such as endangered birds, protected habitats or high-quality water courses, or who have committed to undertake particularly valuable environmental actions such as growing feed-crops for wild birds, adopting low-impact tillage techniques or using low-emission slurry spreading methods.

Farmers had been urged to present the highest standard environmental plans under GLAS 2, and to adopt actions that would promote them from Tier 3 to a higher tier, thereby significantly increasing the chance of selection. Over 80% of applicants in this second tranche of GLAS opted to do so, and with the funding available have been approved.

In addition all GLAS 2 applications from new entrants to farming in 2015, and from new farm partnerships, have been granted priority access under this round, because of difficulties they had in applying under GLAS 1. This includes applications by new entrants or partnerships from Tier 3.

A third tranche of GLAS (GLAS 3) will open later this year. Any applicant who was previously unsuccessful has the opportunity to re-examine their proposed farm-plan, in consultation with their advisor, with a view to improving the plan to increase their chance of selection under GLAS 3 and to submit a new application for GLAS 3 when the scheme is opened.