Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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279. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if owning land ten years in advance of getting a herd number transferred into one's name from one's parents has an impact on eligibility in terms of new entrant status, farm partnerships or eligibility as a new farmer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39098/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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New Entrant to Farming is one of the two priority categories supported under the National Reserve. Part of the eligibility requirements under the new entrant category of the National Reserve is that the applicant must have commenced the present agricultural activity in the two calendar years prior to the year of application under the scheme. Additionally, the applicant is required to not have had any agricultural activity in his/her own name and at his/her own risk in the five years preceding the start of the present agricultural activity.

As part of the checks carried out on applications under the new entrant category of the National Reserve, my Department will examine the date the applicant has joined the herd number under which the application is submitted and will also check records held by the Department with regard to any herd number or other Department allocated reference numbers on which the applicant may have been named previously and were used for agricultural activity or to benefit under schemes and payments.

The Registration of Farm Partnerships Regulations 2015, as set out in Statutory Instrument 247/2015, lays down the criteria for Partnerships at Section 6 as follows:

6. (1) At least one partner in the farm partnership shall be a person who has been engaged in the trade of farming on land owned or leased by that person consisting of at least 3 hectares of useable farm land for at least 2 years immediately preceding the date of formation of the partnership.

(2) Where only one partner in the farm partnership satisfies the requirement of paragraph (1), at least one other partner shall be a natural person and that person shall-

(a) have an agricultural qualification listed in the Schedule or a qualification determined by Teagasc on behalf of the Minister as being of equivalence to those listed in the Schedule, and

(b) hold an entitlement to at least 20% of the profits in the farm partnership profit sharing arrangement.

The herd numbers of Registered Farm Partnership applicants are examined to verify compliance with these requirements.