Written answers

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Common Agricultural Policy Reform

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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156. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he regrets the exclusion from the young farmers provisions of the Common Agricultural Policy 2013-2020 of young farmers who have been farming for more than five years; the reason this was not left to national discretion in the regulations; his plans to rectify this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6626/15]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with the EU Regulations governing the Young Farmer Scheme and National Reserve, a young farmer is defined as a farmer aged 40 years or less who commenced their farming activity no more than five years prior to submitting the Basic Payment Scheme application. This definition of young farmer was agreed by EU Council and Parliament as part of the CAP reform agreement of June 2013.

While the Regulation provides that young farmers and new entrants are priority categories under the National Reserve, it also provides scope to include an optional provision whereby Member States may use the National Reserve to allocate new entitlements or give a top-up on the value of existing entitlements for persons who suffer from a 'Specific Disadvantage'.

I am conscious that there is a group of young farmers who established their holding in 2008 and 2009, who comply with the definition of Young Farmer, but who missed out on both the Young Farmer Installation Scheme which closed to applications in 2008 and the Young Farmer priority category under the National Reserve which includes young farmers who commenced since 2010.

I asked my officials to travel to Brussels to engage with the EU Commission to see whether the category of farmers who commenced farming in 2008 or 2009 could be categorised as a group who suffer from a 'specific disadvantage', and whether it would be possible to facilitate application to the National Reserve for such young farmers, under the same conditions that apply to all other qualifying 'young farmers'.

As a result of my direction and with the recent agreement of the Commission, I am glad to say that this category can be considered as a 'group suffering from specific disadvantage'. The positive result of this development is that these young farmers will be eligible to apply under the 2nd phase of the National Reserve to be given new entitlements or be given a top-up on the value of existing entitlements.

Applications will be made available in early April 2015. This is a very welcome outcome that I feel will address an anomaly in the system and allow for fair and equal treatment for this particular category of young active farmers.

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