Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The training of young farmers is an issue that has come to my attention recently. We have had many debates on this and we have heard a lot of commentary about the loss of young people to the agriculture industry. There is an anomaly in the training of young farmers. The qualification a trained farmer receives is known as a green cert and this can be achieved in two different ways, either by attending agricultural college for a full-time course or on a part-time basis through courses mainly run by Teagasc. A person, however, cannot do the part-time course if he or she is under the age of 23. This needs to be raised with the Minister and the Minister needs to look at it very closely. A young man or woman is an integral part of the operation of a small family farm holding in Ireland and their parents cannot afford or acquire labour to replace them while they are away on a full-time course. If it is good enough to do the course on a part-time basis after the age of 23, I do not see why it cannot be done after the leaving cert.

One case came to my attention recently. A father is in ill health and his son wished to do the training but, because he is only 19, he cannot do it part time and must wait until he is 23. The elephant in the room is that most, if not all, farm payments due to that business are dependent on him having the qualification. The farm will not be able to draw down the payments it needs for five years. I cannot see the difference between doing the course at 18 or 23 on a part-time basis, in the evenings in winter, for example. It is not viable to have to leave a farm for a full-time course because the person is an integral part of the labour of the farm.