Vol. 505 No. 4
93 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his Department will have examinations made into the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny who is in receipt of a farm retirement pension; and if she will be included in the new scheme or if the present scheme will be extended. [13869/99]
The person named was granted the early retirement pension with effect from 3 July 1996, and will reach age 70 on 26 May 2000. In line with the provisions of the scheme of early retirement from farming, payment of the pension will cease from that date.
The rural development regulation that was recently adopted by the agriculture council as part of the Agenda 2000 agreement provides for continued support for early retirement from farming. The provisions of the new regulation cannot apply before 1 January 2000.
Details of the new early retirement measure to apply in Ireland are under consideration in my Department. Our proposals will form part of the rural development plan which has to be submitted before the end of this year for European Commission approval. It is not possible to say at this stage if the new scheme will impact in any way on existing early retirement scheme participants.
