Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the arrangements for young farmers to access entitlements; if the arrangements are finalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47587/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Significant priority is given to those who qualify as young farmers under the new regime of Direct Payments which takes effect in 2015.

The transition will include the establishment of a National Reserve using 3% of the ceiling allocated to the Basic Payment Scheme in 2015. This will provide a fund of almost €25million from which new entitlements will be allocated to successful applicants.

Priority under the National Reserve will be given to those who meet the definition of ‘young farmer’ and ‘new entrant to farming’. Successful applicants will receive an allocation of entitlements based on the eligible land declared on their 2015 Basic Payment Scheme application at a value equal to the national average value of entitlements in the year of application. Successful applicants who already hold entitlements which are below the national average value will receive a top-up whereby the value of those entitlements will be increased to the national average value.

To qualify as a ‘young farmer’, a farmer must meet all of the following conditions;

- S/he is participating in the Basic Payment Scheme

- S/he is aged no more than 40 years of age in the year when s/he first submits an application under the Basic Payment Scheme

- S/he is setting up an agricultural holding for the first time or has set up such a holding during the five years preceding the first submission of the Basic Payment Scheme application

- S/he has successfully completed a recognised course of education in agriculture giving rise to an award at FETAC level 6 or its equivalent or commits to undertaking such a course before the end of September 2016.

After consultation with each of the main farming organisations, and in the context of the limited funding available to the National Reserve, I have decided that an off-farm income limit of €40,000 will be applied to all applicants. In addition the maximum allocation that any one farmer may receive has been fixed at 90 entitlements.