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With applications for GLAS III now closed, it seems likely that all applicants who submitted a valid plan will be accepted into the scheme.
The Irish Farmers Journal understands that fewer than 1,000 applicants have Tier 3 status, and it is believed they will all be admitted into GLAS subject to meeting the normal requirements of the scheme.
In total, slightly under 14,000 farmers applied to join the third tranche of GLAS, which carries a maximum payment of €5,000, or €7,000 for the enhanced GLAS+ scheme. Of these, 7,000 were Tier 1, with about 6,000 achieving Tier 2 status.
This left about 850 Tier 3 applicants. These are the most vulnerable to any cut-off. Many GLAS II Tier 3 applicants were not admitted, with only 11,500 of the 14,000 applicants being accepted. Many of those are understood to have re-applied for GLAS III.
More than 38,000 farmers joined the scheme through GLAS 1 and GLAS II in 2015, so admitting all applicants would mean exceeding the 50,000 scheme participants committed to in the programme for Government.
That said, there are sufficient funds in the budget earmarked for GLAS in the Rural Development Programme to cope with a higher number of applicants.
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