Vol. 539 No. 1
33 Mr. Enright asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will outline the grants that are payable to young farmers arising from the award of a green certificate; if the need to hold a certificate is a criterion for the award of any grant or for eligibility for any scheme administered by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18523/01]
It is a pre-requisite for certain grant aid under a number of schemes operated by my Department that young farmers have obtained the Teagasc certificate in farming, formerly known as the green certificate or an equivalent qualification.
Under the installation aid scheme introduced earlier this year, applicants born on or after 1 January 1975 must have the Teagasc certificate in farming or an equivalent qualification. However, a young farmer born before 1 January 1975 shall also be deemed to have adequate training and experience if he or she has a minimum of three years experience in farming and has completed courses of recognised training in agriculture or horticulture of at least 180 hours.
With regard to the milk quota regime, educational qualifications, including the Teagasc certificate in farming are among the criteria used to establish the eligibility of younger dairy farmers and new entrants to dairying regarding the allocation of quotas to younger farmers from the additional quantities available from 1 April 2000 and 1 April 2001 under the Agenda 2000 agreement and the allocation of the new entrant category under the 2001 milk quota restructuring scheme.
The holding of the Teagasc certificate in farming is not mandatory for participation in the on-farm investment schemes generally. The highest level of formal training required for the three schemes covering farm waste management, the improvement of dairy hygiene standards and housing handling facilities for alternative enterprises, introduced on 1 February this year, are courses of recognised training in agriculture or horticulture of a minimum of 180 hours in the case of applicants born on or after 1 January 1975. However, in relation to the schemes of investment aid for farm waste management or the improvement of dairy hygiene standards, additional investment aid is available to young trained farmers under 35 years of age who, at the date of application, have commenced farming in the previous five years and have obtained the Teagasc certificate in farming or an equivalent qualification. A young farmer born before 1 January 1975 shall also be deemed to have met the training and experience criteria for the additional aid if he or she has a minimum of three years experience in farming and has completed courses of recognised training in agriculture or horticulture of at least 180 hours.
EU direct income payments are not conditional on the recipient holding the Teagasc certificate in farming.
