More than 5,000 farmers are still awaiting their first 85% payment under GLAS I and GLAS II.

Two payment runs in the past week saw €2.524m of GLAS money be issues to farmers.

Some 313 farmers were paid €1.124m in a Department of Agriculture payment run yesterday, Wednesday 15 March.

Last Friday 10 March, a payment run of €1.4m was issued to 386 farmers.

According to the Department of Agriculture, this leaves 5,094 farmers still waiting to be paid under GLAS I and II.

It says 86.2% of the 31,756 GLAS applicants have now been paid. The total money owed to all applicants under the scheme is €112,926,223.

“Debacle”

IFA rural development chair Joe Brady called on Minister Creed to ensure that there will not be a repeat of “this debacle” later this year, when full payment will be due to 52,000 farmers in the scheme.

Brady said delays in farmers’ payments were totally unacceptable and that the current situation had led to significant cashflow problems on many farms.

He called for a cast-iron guarantee from the Minister that the Charter of Rights Commitment would not be flagrantly flouted again.

Full coverage: GLAS

More than 5,000 still waiting for GLAS money

Two payment runs have issued to 699 farmers in the past week but many are still waiting.