Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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72. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will establish a category of specific disadvantage under the national reserve for young farmers who established their holding prior to 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13477/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with the EU Regulations governing the National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme, a young farmer is defined as a farmer aged no more than 40 years of age in the year when s/he first submits an application under the Basic Payment Scheme and who commenced their farming activity no more than five years prior to submitting that application. Priority under the National Reserve is given to ‘young farmers’ and to ‘new entrants to farming’. The Regulations governing the operation of the National Reserve also 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’.

Following my Department’s consultation with the EU Commission, I recently announced that the group commonly known as “Old Young Farmers”, who established their holding between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2009, and who, due to the timeframe of setting up their holding, did not benefit from either the Installation Aid or the Young farmer category of the National Reserve, can be considered as a ‘group suffering from specific disadvantage’. The result is that this group will be eligible to apply to the National Reserve under Phase 2 which will open for applications in early April.

With regard to the group of farmers to which the Deputy refers who commenced farming prior to 2008, officials from my Department are meeting today with representatives of this group to discuss their particular circumstances.

In establishing the National Reserve I opted for the maximum available 3% of the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling, which is estimated at providing a fund of approx. €24 million in 2015. I expect that there will be significant demand for the two priority categories of young farmer and new entrant under Phase 1 of the National Reserve. These two priority categories closed for applications yesterday and the estimated cost of the applications will now be assessed. My Department will then have an indication of the level of resource remaining in the National Reserve to cater for categories under Phase 2 of the Reserve.