Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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As outlined in the replies to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 10960 of 7 April 2004 and 37130 of 19 October 2010, the person named lodged an application under the 1994 Scheme of Early Retirement from Farming on 10 December 1999. This application was rejected and the applicant was informed of the reasons. The Department was not aware at the time that the person named had ceased farming after 1996 and had rented her land and this was not one of the reasons for the rejection of the application. Had this point been considered, it would have been an additional reason for rejecting the application as it is evident that the person named could not have fulfilled all of the conditions outlined in Section 1, Part II (Terms and Conditions), under the heading 'Person eligible to become a Transferor'. This requirement states that

" In order to become a transferor, the applicant must on the date he/she ceases farming, i.e. the date on which all the transfer documents are signed or the land re-assigned to non-agricultural uses:

- be between his/her 55th and 66th birthdays and

- be farming an area of not less than 5 hectares of utilisable agricultural

area (UAA) and

- have practised farming as a main occupation for the preceding ten years

."

Under the terms of the scheme, lands had to be transferred by gift, lease or sale to eligible Transferees. Leases had to be for a minimum of five years. Land let for shorter periods was not eligible. A copy of the 1994 Scheme Terms and Conditions has been sent to the person named.