Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Daly very much for raising this matter. I wish to apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Creed. He is not able to be here this morning as he is taking oral questions in the other House at the moment. As we all know, the green certificate is delivered by Teagasc and has been developed to meet the training requirements for part-time and full-time farmers. It is accredited by Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, an independent State agency responsible for promoting quality and accountability in education and training services in Ireland. In delivering the green certificate, Teagasc fully adheres to QQI’s quality assurance guidelines and principles. Participants can take the green certificate programme on a full-time, part-time and distance education basis at Teagasc agricultural colleges and at local and regional Teagasc education centres. There is no minimum educational entry requirements, but those who have completed the leaving certificate are likely to perform best.

The green certificate opens up a wide range of career options for participants, many of whom will return to farming either in a full-time or part-time capacity. There are also many job opportunities for green certificate holders in the equine, horticulture and forestry sectors. Additionally, the green certificate meets the training requirement for stamp duty exemption, as the Senator mentioned, and for various schemes operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Teagasc is responsible for establishing the eligibility criteria for the green certificate with QQI. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has no function in the matter. QQI’s validation process for the part-time green certificate programme requires Teagasc to specify target learners and access conditions. As it is an adult education programme, Teagasc requested validation for mature students of 23 years or over. An external QQI validation panel reviewed the programme in respect of entry requirements and licensed Teagasc to offer it as an adult education programme.

It is important to point out that the green certificate part-time programme is an adult education programme and not a school leaver programme. The age threshold of 23 years is the accepted convention for adult education programmes in Ireland across the vocational sector. The part-time green certificate option takes two to two and a half years to complete and comprises two awards: the level 5 certificate in agriculture, which is worth 120 credits; and the level 6 specific purpose certificate in farming, which is worth 50 credits. This option consists of a combination of formal course work and a period of practical learning. Areas covered include farm business and IT, principles of agriculture, farm safety, farm performance and management modules, grass production etc.

As a strong supporter of agricultural education, the Government welcomes the exceptional interest in the green certificate over the past few years, which reflects renewed interest and opportunities in agriculture. Teagasc research shows that formal agricultural education provides positive returns in family farm incomes and farm productivity. Teagasc graduate surveys also reflect the above findings with an average of 80% of respondents engaged in farming indicating that they increased their farming activity in the five years after graduation. The Minister, Deputy Creed, was pleased to secure approval for additional resources to enable Teagasc to provide almost 3,000 extra green certificate places that would otherwise not have been made available. The training of so many young farmers is a very positive development for the agrifood sector, both in terms of supporting structural adjustment and encouraging young educated farmers to remain in and to enter farming.