Glas payments to Commonage farmers under threat

FOLLOWING a meeting between the Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association ( INHFA) and the DAFM last week, Dept officials revealed that 389 commonages still had no planner approved to complete a commonage management plan ( CMP), according to CAP Chairman Colm O’Donnell.

The officials explained that these were for the most part commonages where applicants had applied for the Commonage management Plan ( CMP) action under Glas 2 of the scheme. Also communicated to the INHFA delegation was that all CMP’s must be lodged with the DAFM and approved by October before the E. U. commission would clear payment for the full year of 2016 for both Glas 1 and 2 CMP applicants.

While the guide document ( Glas circular 32/ 2015) for the completion of the CMP was circulated to approved planners on the 11th of August 2015 and training provided by the DAFM including field training of these planners, no Commonage Management Plan has been lodged or accepted to date.

The software to complete the online CMP function is still under development and while not yet given to approved planners, the content will be similar to Glas circular 32/ 2015 pointed out Mr O Donnell.

At this stage most if not all of the field work should be completed by advisors and farmers who have applied for Glas 1 need to know their individual minimum stocking rates allocated to them as this action was to be achieved by the end of 2016.