Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 27:

In page 109, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: “(5) The Minister shall, within 90 days of the passage of this Act, publish a report on options for the extension of the stamp duty relief for young trained farmers to all farmers who hold a relevant agricultural qualification.”.

We discussed this amendment on Committee Stage. It is about the definition of the exemption from stamp duty for a young trained farmer. It is a historical definition that dates back to a predecessor of mine in Galway East, former Deputy Paul Connaughton Snr., who was involved at the time the installation aid scheme worth £5,000 was brought forward. Deputy D'Arcy's father, former Deputy Michael D'Arcy, was probably also involved when it was brought forward. It is now defunct, which is disappointing. At the time, eligibility for the scheme was confined to someone under the age of 35 years who had a green certificate. Stamp duty relief and agricultural relief were both defined in the Finance Acts as being confined to a young trained farmer. As the Minister knows, his predecessor, Deputy Noonan, altered the definition of agricultural relief a number of years ago and it is now confined to a trained farmer, regardless of age. I am looking for the same definition to be applied to stamp duty relief in order that if a farmer is trained, he or she would be eligible to avail of it.

It would make sense because if one looks at the initiative developed between the Environmental Protection Agency, the Irish Farmers Association and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment called smart farming, the idea behind it is to get farmers to come up with innovative ways of production to reduce overall emissions. The smart farming initiative has led to reduced agricultural emissions by 10% on average. We want to try to encourage farmers to acquire the skills they need to do this. We also want them to become far more efficient to be able to expand their business and consolidate their operations. In the part of the country from which I come and represent, on the idea behind consolidation being the disposal of an out farm to buy a home farm, when one is talking about small holdings, there is not an awful lot of which to dispose. The objective is to try to facilitate the small cohort of farmers over the age of 35 years who are trying to make their operations more efficient. If they have the required qualification, they should be eligible to avail of stamp duty relief.

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