Securing a GLAS rollover for 36,000 farmers whose contracts expire in December is the biggest priority for Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue in the upcoming budget.

Farmers in GLAS I and II receive €150m annually and a battle is under way to renew this funding until a new CAP is rolled out, along with a budget allocation for the promised pilot REPS programme.

However, it is likely that a GLAS extension will come at the expense of the 2020 rollout of the REPS pilot, which the Government had committed to.

There is no indication that the GLAS scheme will reopen for new applicants

An Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed in the Dáil last week that €1.5bn in promised carbon tax funding for REPS will be “separate from the Common Agricultural Policy”.

There is no indication that the GLAS scheme will reopen for new applicants. This will extend the lockout of 2,100 farmers who exited AEOS in 2018 and new entrants to farming since 2016. For most farmers in GLAS, the rollover will be a straightforward process. However, some farmers who carried out actions with an up-front cost, such as fencing watercourses, may have to choose a new action to secure the extra payment.

Farmers face prospect of prolonged scheme lockout

Government planning extension to GLAS scheme

GLAS set for rollover but REPS pushed back

Efforts to secure funds for an extension to GLAS will see a REPS pilot pushed to the second half of 2021, the Irish Farmers Journal understands.