Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 December 2013
25. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps being taken to support young farmers, farm restructuring, transfer of farmland and competitiveness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53142/13]
View answerThere are a number of measures in place in my Department where the issues of supporting young farmers, farm restructuring, the transfer of farmland and competitiveness are being addressed.
Firstly, in relation to Pillar 1 there are several innovative features of the new Common Agricultural Policy, including support for young farmers. This is incorporated in two elements of the new Direct Payment Regulation, namely the ‘Young Farmers Scheme’ and the ‘National Reserve’. The essential purpose of the Young Farmers Scheme and the National Reserve is to assist young farmers in the initial stages of establishing a farming enterprise in their own name and to encourage generational renewal. I expect to make decision on the implementation of Pillar 1 reforms by the end of this year.
On the taxation side, I have had on-going contact with the Minister for Finance in order to make progressive amendments to support young farmers and to facilitate land mobility. This is reflected in a number of measures introduced and maintained over the course of recent Budgets, including:
- Retirement relief on Capital Gains Tax where an individual over 55 years disposes of some or all of his land once certain criteria are met. A number of changes have been made to this relief in recent budgets;
- Reductions in stamp duty rates for land transfers in recent budgets;
- 100% stock relief on income tax for young trained farmers.
Finally, the development of a new Rural Development Plan (RDP) for the period 2014-2020 represents an opportunity to further develop a comprehensive set of measures that will seek to address the issues outlined by the Deputy. Work on the design of the next RDP is well underway. In designing the new RDP, my Department must take account of the range of requirements set out in the draft Rural Development Regulation and the need to support key policy aim for the agri food sector in light of the Food Harvest 2020 strategy. I expect to make decisions in relation to the measures to be supported under the new RDP by the end of this year, and to submit a draft programme to the Commission in early 2014.
