Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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1029. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will make an allocation for 2016 and 2017 for young farmers under the national reserve scheme; when he will announce the conditions for such a scheme for 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10063/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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In 2015 the National Reserve fund was based on a 3% cut to the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling and provided some €24.8 million in funding which was the maximum financing rate available under the relevant EU Regulations. When finalised there will be some 6,000 successful applicants under the 2015 National Reserve. Due to the high level of successful applicants under the scheme in 2015, all of the available National Reserve funding will, in all likelihood, have been utilised. For 2016 the only source of funding available to the National Reserve will be from ‘clawback’ on the sale of entitlements without land and indications are that the level of funds that will arise from ‘clawback’ during the 2016 scheme year will be minimal. The Regulations also provide that Member States may apply a linear cut to the value of all farmers’ entitlements in order to provide funding for the National Reserve. My Department has recently been in consultation with the Direct Payments Advisory Committee, which includes members of the main farming bodies and advisory services, in relation to the 2016 National Reserve and a final decision is pending.

From 2017 onwards the National Reserve will be replenished from unused entitlements, as EU Regulations governing the scheme provide that entitlements that are unused for two consecutive years are surrendered to the National Reserve. Decisions in relation to a National Reserve for 2017 will be considered once the position on potential funding arising from unused entitlements and clawback has been established.