Bernard Allen
Question:26 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to extend the farm retirement plan to persons in other types of employment.
Written Answers. - Farm Retirement Scheme.
The Deputy is referring to the new scheme of early retirement from farming which is an EU scheme. This scheme is one of the accompanying measures to the CAP reform agreed in May 1992. The scheme is co-financed at the rate of 75 per cent by the EU agriculture budget and is designed to help redress two of the main structural defects in Irish farming, namely, farm size and the age profile of farmers. The Deputy will appreciate, therefore, that as the EU scheme is specifically directed at farmers it is not relevant to any other type of employment.