Vol. 509 No. 6
241 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if his Department will review the application under the EU farm retirement scheme by a person (details supplied) in County Laois who signed land registry documentation for his solicitor only 17 days before his 55th birthday and, as a result, was rejected in his application. [21454/99]
It is a provision laid down in the EU regulations governing the scheme of early retirement from farming that an applicant be aged between 55 and 66 years on the date he or she ceases farming and must have practiced farming as a main occupation for the ten years prior to retirement. As the person named signed the legal transfer documents before his 55th birthday he could not meet these requirements. The provisions of the scheme are unambiguous in this regard and it is not possible to accept applications where they have not been met.
