Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 May 2015
86. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine of the 4,000 farmers identified that are under 40 years of age and who commenced farming between 2002 to 2008, with entitlements below national average, the number of these who could have availed of installation aid available at that time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21048/15]
View answerOn 1 April 2015 officials from my Department met with a group representing farmers under the age of 40, who established their holdings prior to 2008 and who hold low value entitlements. Following the meeting my Department carried out analysis to establish the total number of farmers in this group. It was established that this group comprises some 3,900 farmers.
While it is possible to identify the 3,900 farmers in this category, it is not possible to say how many of these could have qualified for Installation Aid. There were a number of conditions to be fulfilled for qualification under the Installation Aid Scheme, and the process required assessment on a case-by-case basis. Without knowing the specific conditions applying in each case, it is not possible to quantify how many could have qualified.
