Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 241: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will review the age restrictions on eligibility of farmers as transferees of agricultural land; her views on whether the current age limit is ageist; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14776/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The objective of the European Council regulation which governs the current early retirement scheme is structural reform through the provision of a financial incentive to older farmers to retire early to facilitate their replacement by younger farmers who are considered more likely to improve the economic viability of the holding. The regulation sets down minimum requirements which must be met but enables individual member states to set additional conditions considered necessary to meet the objectives of the scheme.

In designing the scheme my Department considered that the focus should be on younger farmers and provided for a sliding upper age limit for prospective transferees starting at 45 years and reducing annually to 40 years for applications received in 2006. This age structure continues to be supported by the representatives of young farmers. I have no plans to change the age limits.