Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the eligibility conditions for participation in the early retirement scheme from farming 2007 for farmers who wish to retire; if, in this context, such a person would have to be the registered owner of the lands for a particular or specified period, prior to such person transferring the lands for the purpose of participating in the ERS; if, where a husband and wife have worked on the farm for a number of years and the husband has transferred unreservedly the landholding to his wife, the wife would be eligible for participation in the said scheme when she reaches a particular age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17031/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Terms and Conditions of the Early Retirement Scheme (ERS 3) 2007 are available from my Department's offices in Johnstown Castle, Wexford or from any of the local AES Offices. They may also be accessed on the Department's website.

In a situation where a husband has transferred the landholding to his wife, she may apply for the Scheme provided she is between her 55th and 66th birthday and meets all of the other eligibility criteria, including the requirement to have farmed either solely or with a family member/partner for the ten years prior to the transfer/lease of the lands to the transferee.

While there is no requirement that she would have to be the owner of the lands for a specific period prior to transfer/lease of the lands to the transferee, it could affect how her application would be classified. To qualify as a Sole Applicant she would have to be the owner of the pension lands on 31 December in the calendar year prior to the transfer/lease of the lands to the transferee. The lands would have to be the subject of an SPS/Area Aid application by the applicant/family member/partner at the date of signing of the transfer/lease (with the transferee) or in the year prior to signing.

Any application must, of course, fully comply with all of the Scheme conditions and a decision cannot be made on eligibility under the Scheme until the Department has had an opportunity to examine an application fully.