Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2015
280. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a mechanism for young trained farmers who were established prior to 2010 and who could not avail of installation aid to access the new national reserve scheme and the young farmers scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3861/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with relevant EU Regulations, priority under the National Reserve will be given to farmers meeting the definition of Young Farmer and New Entrant in the first instance. The Regulations also include an optional provision whereby Member States may use the National Reserve to allocate new entitlements or give a top-up on the value of existing entitlements for persons who suffer from a ‘Specific Disadvantage’. The application of this optional use of the Reserve for non-priority categories will be dependent on the availability of funds within the National Reserve once the two priority categories have been allocated.
My Department is aware of the particular category of farmer referred to by the Deputy. In this regard, my Department is engaging with the EU Commission to examine the possibility of including this category of farmer under the “Specific Disadvantage” provision.
