Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. The position is that if someone is 36 years of age, for the sake of argument, and has a green certificate, he or she can fill in a single farm payment or basic payment scheme, BPS, form and receive the allowance as a young farmer from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Perhaps the Minister might look at this issue, but for whatever reason, the Department of Finance applies a limit of 35 years. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine allows an application to be made up to the age of 40 years. The reality is the generation before them want to try to hold on to land for as long as they can. Generally, for a farmer aged 40, 38 or 37 years, he or she will be 64, 65 or 66 before they he or she receives the farm. As pointed out by Deputy Naughten, we are trying to bring in people with particular skill sets, as well as young enthusiastic farmers. I would still describe a person aged 37, 38 or 39 years as young. We need to try to have the two definitions run in parallel to each other, if possible. The same definition of a young farmer should be applied by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Finance. The farmers concerned have their green certificate and are trained. After a while it will wither away and all farmers will be trained as young farmers with qualifications move up along the line. Even in my day we had to undertake 180 hours of training, to be topped up by a further 80 hours. That training was undertaken by farmers who are now aged 52 or 53 years and even older. They were kept out of the equation. It is not as if they will be buying ranches. As pointed out, they will be buying small amounts of land to try to make their operations more sustainable in rural areas. That will help to keep a light on and a community going. I ask the Minister to look at the issue.

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