Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
1825. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the cut-off dates for his proposed scheme for "forgotten farmers"; if he will outline the definition of a forgotten farmer as proposed by his Department; the current status of the proposed scheme; if it will involve the reallocation of farm entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1097/23]
View answerI have long supported the cohort of farmers known as the forgotten farmers and I have committed to supporting them who find themselves, in many cases, in this situation through no fault of their own.
Since the time the Department was first approached with regard to the group commonly referred to as forgotten farmers, the group was defined as young farmers who were under the age of 40 in 2015, had established their holdings prior to 2008 and held no or low value payment entitlements.
My Department has developed a preliminary outline of a proposal to provide support to the forgotten farmer group. There are a number of issues to be addressed, for example, the funding required and consistency with the public expenditure, before the details of the eligibility requirements and benefits to successful applicants under a scheme can be finalised.
Details of the scheme will be made available as soon as this process has been completed. I am committed to delivering for these farmers as quickly as possible.
