Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Independent)
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346. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out his views on correspondence in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow under the installation aid scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18206/15]

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’. A new entrant is defined as a farmer who commenced their agricultural activity during the previous two years. 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 announced in March 2015 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, which closed for applications in October 2008, 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 is eligible to apply to the National Reserve under Phase 2 which opened for applications on 1st April 2015. Successful applicants under the National Reserve will be eligible for an allocation of entitlements at the National Average value on land for which they hold no entitlements (on the basis of 1 entitlement for 1 hectare of eligible land declared). In respect of existing entitlements with a value below the National Average, they will receive a top-up to the National Average value. The allocation of entitlements and top-up to the value of existing entitlements is subject to a maximum of 90.

The person named has been in correspondence with my Department regarding his application under the National Reserve. He had initially applied for the ‘young farmer’ priority category of the National Reserve but subsequently contacted my Department regarding the ‘Old Young Farmer’ category for young farmers who established their holdings in 2008 and 2009. My Department issued the Terms and Conditions for the ‘Old Young Farmer’ scheme to the person named and also notified him that his request to have his application amended has been accepted.