Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 10 Mar 1998

Vol. 488 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Farm Early Retirement Scheme.

Mr. Durkan

I presume the Minister of State is aware of the circumstances related to qualification for farm retirement grants. The case I raise is one of many, of which I am sure he is well aware. In this case a young man inherited his father's farm and decided to start farming at an early age. He subsequently inherited and leased his uncle's property and the combination made a reasonably viable holding. In accordance with advice readily available from the Government, he decided after a couple of years that he would be well served to improve his education to ensure he would be better equipped to deal with the world. When he decided to do so the farm retirement pension which had been awarded to his uncle was stopped. That put the young man in a difficult position because the retired uncle is now obliged to find somebody to take his place.

I received a reply from the Department on foot of representations made in this case. It indicated that under the scheme—

. "farming as a main occupation" shall mean farming in accordance with Article 5 (1) (a) of the Council Regulation 2328/91 which prescribes that: "The proportion of income he or she derives from the farm is 50 per cent or more of the farmer's total income and the working time devoted to work unconnected with the farm is less than half of the farmer's total working time".

That is the crunch factor. The question at issue is how much of the young man's time is devoted to farming. Someone has arbitrarily decided that more than 50 per cent of his time is spent in education when it is not. On reviewing the case I found that roughly 23 weeks, or 115 working days of 4.5 to five hours per day, are devoted to his education. I do not know how much those who prescribe the scheme know about agriculture, but a five hour day would not be considered the greater portion of a working day. This young man spends roughly 115 out of 365 days devoted to his education.

If a change in this scheme is required it should be made. This is the year in which we are expected to approve the Amsterdam Treaty and seek the support of the people for it. We encourage people to follow the advice we have given them over many years to improve their education to be better equipped for the future. However, when they do so we penalise them because they do not conform to the bureaucratic regulations. It may be that the Commission decided this matter and, if so, it decided wrongly.

I appeal to the Minister of State to change this policy because it is the greatest contradiction I have seen in bureaucracy. This young man is attempting to do what he has been encouraged to do.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food (Mr. Davern)

The scheme of early retirement from farming is one of the accompanying measures operated under the CAP reform agreed in 1992. The scheme was introduced in 1994. The intention of the scheme is to encourage older farmers to retire and to transfer their holdings to younger farmers who would enlarge them and, in so doing, improve the viability of the holding. The pension is payable for a maximum of ten years but, in any event, not beyond the retiring farmer's seventieth birthday. To be eligible to retire under the scheme the farmer must be aged between 55 and 66 years of age on the date he or she signs the documents releasing the farm and he or she must have practised farming as a main occupation in each of the previous ten years. The farm must be passed on to a younger eligible trained farming transferee who must be under 50 years and have the appropriate skill and competence.

The eligible farming transferee who takes over the farm must have land in his or her own right — at least five hectares of usable agricultural area — or if he or she does not have lands, then he or she must enlarge the holding they receive from the retiring farmer by either five hectares of usable agricultural area or 10 per cent of the farm being taken over, whichever is the greater. The scheme has been very successful in this country with over 7,000 people participating.

Given the nature of the scheme it is inevitable that specific conditions must be applied. Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2079/92, under which the scheme is being implemented, specifies certain mandatory conditions which must be included in the scheme. One of these conditions is that a person eligible to become a farming transferee must, on the date the transfer documents are signed, undertake to practise farming as a main occupation and work the expanded holding for a period of five years or for as long as the early retirement pension is granted to the transferor, whichever is the greater. Furthermore, the young farmer must farm in harmony with the requirements of EU and national legislation on environmental protection in default of which certain controls and penalties will apply.

Under the scheme "farming as a main occupation" means farming in accordance with article 5 (1) (a) of Council Regulation 2328/91, the provisions of which are set out in the application form. The particular definition is as follows.

The proportion of income he or she derives from the farm is 50 per cent or more of the farmer's total income and the working time devoted to work unconnected with the farm is less than half of the farmer's total working time [or] . while not practising farming as their main occupation derive at least 50 per cent of their total income from farming, forestry, tourism, or craft activities carried out on the holding, provided that the proportion of income deriving directly from farming on the holding is not less than 25 per cent of the farmer's total income and that off-farm activities do not account for more than half of the farmer's total working time.

This is set out in the general conditions of the scheme which are part of the application form. Accordingly, if either a prospective transferor or transferee is engaged in a full-time job or full-time education, then he or she cannot, by definition, be deemed eligible under the scheme. In essence, a full-time job or full-time education are taken to be exclusive as it is not possible to have two full-time pursuits.

With regard to full-time and part-time working, I would direct the Deputy to the working time directive and the provisions contained therein. In light of this directive and the provisions of the regulations governing the scheme of early retirement from farming, I cannot see how it would be possible to admit a full-time student to——

Mr. Durkan

That will not be popular in County Tipperary.

Mr. Davern

The Deputy is not helping his constituent.

Mr. Durkan

The Minister of State has the opportunity to do so.

Mr. Davern

I cannot see how it would be possible to admit a full-time student to a scheme where he or she must engage in full-time farming and balance this against the demands of a full-time university degree course and its study implications. Therefore, we are simply applying the rules of the scheme in this case. I hope the position has been clarified for the Deputy.

Mr. Durkan

It has not.