Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I shall read the briefing note for the Deputy. Consanguinity relief under paragraph (5) Schedule 1 of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 is available to an individual to whom land is conveyed or transferred by a close relative who personally farms the land or leases it to an individual who farms the land. The section does not specifically provide for the farming of land by companies. The Revenue Commissioners have indicated that they will look favourably on allowing the relief on an administrative basis, subject to any controls considered necessary to avoid abuse, where a farmer retains ownership of the land but farms it through a company that is controlled by him or her and in which he or she is a working director who satisfies the active farmer requirement, in other words that he or she is a farmer with an agricultural qualification or is a farmer who spends not less than 50% of his or her normal working time farming the land on behalf of the company, and in both cases that the land is farmed on a commercial basis or with a view to the realisation of profits.

Similarly, if the owner of the land leases it to a farmer, as provided for in the section, who farms it through a company and satisfies the active farmer requirements, the relief will also apply. Whether the farming is carried out by an individual in a personal capacity or through a company which the individual controls is not a significant issue. The important aspect of this relief is that the land is put to productive use for farming purposes.

Therefore, if it is a company, one would need to check the situation with Revenue, but it has expressed a willingness to allow the company to be "the farmer".