Computer chaos behind GLAS delays

GLAS delays for thousands of farmers are being blamed on two Department of Agriculture computer systems, which are conflicting with each other.

Different information on the BPS and GLAS systems are triggering error messages for farmers’ GLAS applications, preventing payment, according to agricultural consultants.

Ongoing redigitisation of some land parcels in the BPS system means that they are not recognised by the GLAS computer system.

The farmers’ GLAS applications then cannot be paid automatically and must be examined individually by Department officials.

There are fears that this could push payment to farmers out to January 2018 and maybe even further.

“These further delays to payments are exacerbating the frustration currently being experienced by consultants,” said Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) president Laura Johnston.

“Consultants, in conjunction with their farmer clients, have completed their work in a timely manner and to the strict Department deadlines, only to have their clients’ payments delayed due to inadequate computer systems within the Department.

“Surely these issues could have been identified earlier, rather than a week before the expected payment date?”

Average payment

The average GLAS payment is around €4,200 per farmer.

“Even a slight adjustment in the land parcel on the boundary of a farmyard could move that parcel to overlap with a GLAS hedgerow,” explained agricultural consultant Tom Canning. “That makes the GLAS hedge ineligible for payment.

“The scheme is in turmoil and it needn’t be,” he said.

Their frustration was magnified by notices which issued to farmers last week – incorrectly in many cases – which said they would not be paid because of outstanding low-emissions slurry spreading forms.

“I’m working in advisory services for 30 years and I can honestly say it was the worst week I’ve ever put down. The phone erupted, farmers took it that they were being put out of GLAS. They went berserk.”

The Department of Agriculture last week said 10,000 farmers were ineligible for payment. This was broken down as 4,000 GLAS farmers who had not submitted a commonage management plan, another 2,800 whose nutrient management plans (NMPs) were outstanding and 3,200 ineligible due to non-submission of 2017 BPS applications, missing rare breed forms and low-emission slurry spreading declarations.

An update was not available from the Department as we went to press but 2,000 farmers were paid 85% advance GLAS money by Friday.

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