Vol. 527 No. 3
63 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the initiatives in place or planned by him to encourage more young farmers to follow advanced training courses in agriculture in the various sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28400/00]
Teagasc, which is responsible for the provision of agricultural training, conducts an extensive promotion campaign to encourage young people to undertake training.
In addition to providing substantial resources to enable Teagasc to deliver a comprehensive training programme, the State also provides a range of incentives to encourage young farmers to undertake training. Full relief from stamp duty on the transfer of agricultural land is provided to trained young farmers who meet certain conditions. Young trained farmers can benefit under the special stock relief scheme. They also qualify for assistance under the scheme of installation aid, for higher rates of grant aid under the new investment aid schemes, for priority access to suckler cow quota and for the transfer of land under the early retirement scheme for farmers.
