Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

330. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 210 of 19 May 2015 and following the adoption of a recommendation by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the steps he will take to ensure that forgotten farmers have access to the national reserve and to enhanced benefits under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30250/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The 2015 National Reserve closed for receipt of applications on 29 ^thMay 2015. The National Reserve fund in 2015 is based on 3% of the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling, which is estimated at providing approximately €24 million in funding. Based on the level of applications, with some 6,500 having been received, it is expected that there will be considerable demand on the National Reserve fund in 2015. With regard to the group commonly referred to as ‘Forgotten Farmers’, analysis carried out by my Department shows that there are some 3,900 farmers who are under the age of 40, who established their holdings prior to 2008 and who hold low value entitlements. An estimation of the cost of increasing the value of existing entitlements to the National Average for these 3,900 farmers stands at €12.288 million. Further analysis by my Department shows that 898 of these 3,900 farmers availed of Installation Aid available at the time.

The farmers in this group will benefit from an increase in the value of the entitlements under the convergence process between 2015 and 2019, whereby farmers who hold entitlements with an Initial Unit Value below 90% of the Basic Payment Scheme national average will see the value of their entitlements increase gradually over the five years of the scheme.

With regard to qualification for the enhanced 60% rate of aid under TAMS, the definition of ‘young farmer’ laid down for the purposes of any capital investment schemes is quite explicit: farmers must be below 40 years of age at the time of application and have been set up in farming within the previous five years. These qualifying criteria are laid down by EU regulation and I have no authority to vary them. Unfortunately, this means that some farmers will not qualify for the enhanced rate of aid under TAMS. However, any young farmers who do not qualify for the enhanced rate of aid under the dedicated Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme will be prioritised for aid under the various other new TAMS schemes which offers grants of 40% of investment costs. The following investments have been identified as priority areas to be targeted in the new TAMS schemes:

- a young farmer capital investment scheme,

- dairy equipment,

- low emission spreading equipment,

- organic capital investment,

- animal housing, animal welfare and farm safety and farm nutrient storage, and

- pig and poultry investments in energy, water meters and medicine dispensers.

I have already launched the new Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme and the Dairy Equipment Scheme, and Terms and Conditions for both are available on my Department’s website. The other TAMS II schemes will be rolled out as soon as possible and will be open to all farmers, irrespective of age.