merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, has announced the approval of the first building-restoration projects under the GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme.

“This is a small but very important scheme which will make a huge contribution to preservation of our rural heritage and the enhancement of the rural landscape,” Minister Creed said today, adding that the fact that all of these buildings must be put back into some form of agricultural use ensured their ongoing relevance into the future. “These are beautiful structures, made of local materials by local craftsmen, and I think we are all learning to appreciate how important this part of our heritage is,” the Minister said.

Nearly 60 projects are proposed for approval in this first round, with total associated grant-aid exceeding €800,000. A very wide range of projects are being supported, including restoration of traditional barns and byres, stables, walls, gates and gate-pillars.
The GLAS Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme builds upon the success of a similar scheme under REPS4 (2007-2013) which saw over 350 buildings nationwide restored and over 140 previously unknown roosts of protected species discovered and conserved. A selection of projects supported under the REPS4 Traditional Farm Buildings Grant Scheme can be viewed here: http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/architecture/our-initiatives/traditional-farm-buildings-scheme

Under the new scheme, grants are available to GLAS participants to carry out approved conservation works to traditional farm buildings and associated structures (historic yard surfaces, landscape features around the farmyard e.g. walls, gate pillars, gates). The principal objective of this scheme is to ensure that traditional farm buildings and other structures that contribute to the character of the landscape and which are of significant heritage value are conserved for agricultural use.


Funding and Financing
The Scheme is jointly funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine and the European Union, and is administered on behalf of the Department by the Heritage Council. The financial allocation to the Scheme is €6million for the lifetime of the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme. All applications are assessed individually to identify the best and highest priority projects. The grants available range between €4,000 and €25,000 and can cover up to 75% of the cost of the works.