Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2016
325. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the agripartnership scheme, if the application process is sufficiently efficient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46571/15]
View answerFollowing the ending of the Milk Quota Regulations on 31 March 2015, the legal basis for the Register of Milk Production Partnerships ceased to exist and consequently the Register of milk production partnerships (MPPs) was no longer valid. My Department established a new Farm Partnership Register that contains those MPPs who wished to remain in a farm partnership, as well as new farm partnerships - including those in enterprises other than dairying.
The new Register came in to effect on April 1 2015 and currently has over 1,000 farm partnerships registered on it – c.550 of which are former MPPs. While the vast majority of the new farm partnerships continue to be dairying, about 15% are enterprises other than dairying such as beef and tillage. One of the inducements to encourage the maintenance and development of farm partnerships is the granting of an enhanced 50% stock relief to members of registered farm partnerships. I am satisfied that this process of registration is operating efficiently and effectively.
This Government has introduced a number of incentives for the creation of farm partnerships. For example members of farm partnerships can avail of enhanced 50% stock relief under the tax code. In addition my Department has introduced a Support for Collaborative Farming Grant Scheme under the new Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. The grant is aimed at covering part of the legal, advisory and financial services costs incurred in the drawing up of the Farm Partnership Agreement, a prerequisite for any partnership adopting best practice. The first tranche of payments issued in late December.
A major new initiative on ‘Family Transfer Partnerships’ to assist succession in agriculture was announced in Budget 2016. It is a structure in which family members enter into a partnership, and appropriate profit-sharing agreement, with the provision for the transfer of the family farm to the younger farmer at the end of a specified period (not exceeding ten years). To support this transfer a tax credit of up to a maximum of €5,000 per annum for five years can be allocated to the partnership, thereby incentivising the transfer and mitigating some of the financial issues involved. The partnership model enables a gradual transfer of control and also facilitates knowledge transfer from one generation to another. The commencement of the Scheme is subject to State Aid approval by the EU Commission and the Scheme’s administrative procedures, including the application process, will not be finalised until that approval is received. As the Finance Act 2015 (the legislation providing for the Scheme) has just been enacted, the formal application to the Commission for State Aid approval is expected to be submitted shortly.
