Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 196: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her plans to change the guidelines regarding the early retirement scheme; if a person would be able to go to the mart to sell animals on behalf of their son or do minimum farm yard duty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8756/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The EU regulations governing both the 1994 scheme of early retirement from farming and the early retirement, ERS2, 2000 scheme require scheme participants to cease commercial farming definitively. As work such as selling animals on behalf of a family member at a mart or carrying out work in the farm yard is considered part of normal farming activities, a retired farmer would be precluded from carrying out such work after his or her retirement.

This requirement must be adhered to and is central to the operation of the scheme, and it is not open to my Department to waive it. However, in a concession secured from the European Commission, farmers who have retired under one or other of the early retirement schemes are allowed to work as insured employees in farming-related businesses. Examples of such employment would include work for co-ops and private companies that provide services to farmers on a contract basis, such as relief milking, silage making, hedge cutting and other such activities.