Vol. 539 No. 1
145 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the reason the farm retirement pension of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary is being adjusted over a period of five years in view of the fact that the half acre site which he disposed of was taken out of his land area in 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18521/01]
Under the terms and conditions of the scheme of early retirement from farming, a farming transferee must work the expanded holding for a period of five years or for as long as the early retirement pension is granted to the transferor, whichever is the greater. Because part of the holding was disposed of in this case, the farming transferee was unable to comply with this undertaking. As the undertaking related to the entire period of the pension, my Department was obliged to reduce pension payments for that period.
