Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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2. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will allow young farmers that have enrolled but not necessarily completed an approved educational course to avail of payments on the basis that the EU has confirmed that the educational requirement for the young farmers scheme is a rule set at national level. [5063/17]

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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What is the situation regarding young farmers who have enrolled but not necessarily commenced - the tabled question states completed, which is a mistake - an approved educational course, that is, the FETAC level 6 course, the green cert, that many farmers had to do? They had to have commenced it before May of last year. Many of them were not able to do so because the places were not available and now they find that they are being excluded. What is the Minister's response?

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with EU regulations, members states may define additional eligibility criteria as regards appropriate skills and-or training in respect of the national reserve and young farmers schemes.

Since the introduction of the single payment scheme in 2005 decisions relating to the national reserve, including decisions on objective criteria, are taken in consultation with the direct payments advisory committee, which comprises members of the main farming bodies and farm advisory services. The decision to include agricultural education as an objective criteria for the national reserve and young farmers schemes has been consistently endorsed by this group as it provides assurance that the funding for these schemes is made available to bona fide young and trained farmers. Otherwise, the funding could be allocated to non-farming landowners.

Persons who meet the definition of "young farmer" receive significant benefits in terms of preferential access to the national reserve and also in terms of qualifying for an additional payment under the young farmers scheme. Similarly, the category of "new entrant" provides preferential access to the national reserve for farmers who are establishing their holding for the first time or have established their holding in the previous two years but who cannot avail of the young farmer category due to their age.

To ensure that the benefits of the young farmer and new entrant categories are targeted at those who had a genuine interest in farming as a career, successful applicants are required to have completed a recognised course of education in agriculture giving rise to an award at FETAC level 6 or its equivalent.  This requirement, endorsed by the direct payments advisory committee, receives wide support as it ensures that payments from the national reserve, which are in effect funded by cuts to the entitlements of other farmers, are targeted at bona fide young farmers and new entrants to farming.

The requirement in respect of a FETAC level 6 agricultural educational qualification, when combined with the high demand for places on agricultural courses, gave rise to a significant demand and created a challenge for the agricultural educational sector in 2015. The Department was aware of many prospective applicants who had an interest in pursuing such an agricultural course but may have experienced difficulty in achieving the completed educational qualifications in time to qualify for the 2015 young farmer and national reserve schemes.  To ensure that no such young farmer or new entrant would be excluded from the benefits of these schemes, my Department announced increased flexibility regarding the timelines for achieving the required educational qualifications. It was decided that any person who met the other eligibility criteria for the relevant schemes and who commenced a qualified agricultural course anytime up to and including September 2016 would be accepted under the national reserve and young farmers schemes in 2015.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Ireland was required to notify the EU Commission of the additional educational eligibility criteria being applied to the national reserve and young farmers schemes, and the increased flexibility in regard to same. The EU Commission subsequently advised Ireland that the flexible arrangements that would allow an applicant to commence their agricultural education after the date of submission of an application under the national reserve and-or young farmers schemes did not fit with the "annual logic of the direct payments" and creates a risk of being contrary to EU regulations governing the operation of the scheme.

To ensure that farmers would not be disadvantaged by this ruling and to comply with the notification from the EU Commission, thus avoiding the risk of a financial correction for Ireland, extensive efforts were put in place by my Department, Teagasc and other agricultural education course providers. This resulted in applicants to the 2015 national reserve and young farmers schemes being provided with a placement on an agricultural education course prior to 31 December 2015. All applicants who commenced their agricultural education course by end-2015 were deemed to have fulfilled the agricultural education requirements for the national reserve and young farmers scheme in 2015. To have enrolled but not commenced an agricultural education course would not be sufficient to comply with the requirement for "appropriate education".

Similarly, for the 2016 young farmers scheme, successful applicants were required to have commenced their agricultural education by the closing date for the scheme. There was no requirement to have the agricultural education course completed in 2016.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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The difficulty is that the Minister has previously stated categorically that this issue was an EU one. He said the EU Commission had stated that there was an issue with applicants commencing their agricultural education on a date after that on which they submitted the application for the national reserve and that they were excluded from the scheme if they had not commenced it beforehand. Up to now, the Minister and those in his Department have blamed entirely the EU for the situation, but the EU is not and has never been the problem. The Minister is now admitting that the EU is not behind it but the direct payments advisory committee which has agreed it in the past. The truth is that the Department, if it wanted to, could change these rules. It could make this flexible and accessible and offer opportunity to young farmers. If the agriculture sector is going to go anywhere in this country, there must be opportunity for young farmers to enter it. We all agree that that is the reality. Rather than being angry, most people are disappointed to see that our Department and Government are finding ways to block and stop farmers. That needs to change. We need to find a way to ensure that we create the maximum amount of opportunity for farmers to complete the green cert so that they can move forward.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I will make one small point. There are 450 young farmers in the Sligo-Leitrim-Donegal area doing the course at the moment. Some 50% of the tutors employed by Teagasc are now awaiting the renewal of their contracts. They are not sure if that will happen. If it does not happen, where will it all end?

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Successive Ministers in previous Administrations have always stipulated the educational qualification of young farmers as a criterion. We have to notify the Commission that it is an additional requirement that we are imposing so that our requirements are compatible with its requirements. The Commission has always approved the requirements that we, exercising a domestic competence, add to its requirements. We cannot do anything that would be incompatible with its regulations. Our requirements in terms of educational attainment are and have always been domestic and have always been endorsed by the advisory group that advises the Minister on these matters. That group comprises the farming organisations, which have always agreed with those requirements. The national reserve is a scarce and valuable resource, but it is not the Department's resource. It is made up of farmers' resources. If we make this entitlement available to other farmers, it comes, by virtue of a linear cut, from everyone else's entitlements. It is a valuable entitlement that is much sought after, so it is only fair that we have objective criteria in terms of active farmers, farm income and educational qualifications to ensure that it is directed at those who are active farmers.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Surely this issue relates to flexibility and opportunity. The opportunity exists to create the flexibility to allow more farmers to enter it. Most farmers from all walks of life will accept that the problem is that we do not have a national reserve. The mechanism to get one, where if a farmer sells his or her entitlements a certain amount is clawed back, means no one is selling them. Instead, they are all going into the rental scheme and are being rented out. That is a problem. The leasing system is not working. The Minister needs to review this situation and come up with a way of ensuring that we can establish a national reserve so that young and new farmers and returned emigrants, etc., are afforded an opportunity. All we are asking for is that that opportunity would be provided. If the current cap on the level of payments people can receive was lowered to, say, €100,000, which would be more than enough for anyone to survive on, it would create an opportunity to put money into the provision of a national reserve for our young farmers.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I must emphasise a point which appears to be lost on the Deputy, whether deliberately or otherwise. These entitlements are a valuable resource that farmers own. This is not Exchequer funding, so if we want to create a national reserve, we have to take it from other farmers. In targeting it at others, we have to ensure that we are targeting it appropriately, that is, at active and trained farmers and not at those who are perhaps just landowners who are not active farmers.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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Such as the processors.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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These objective criteria have always been approved by the advisory committee, which is made up of farm advisory services and farmers' representatives. It is only right and proper that they would be assured that it is in the long-term interests of the industry if they are giving something from their members. New and young blood, training and educational qualifications are rational criteria on which to make the decision.