The National Reserve will be open to applications from ‘old’ young farmers in early April, according to the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney.

The Minister said that under CAP Pillar 1 the Regulation provides that young farmers and new entrants are priority categories under the National Reserve.

It also provides scope to 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’, he said.

“With regard to the group of young farmers who established their holding in 2008 and 2009, but who missed out on both the Young Farmer Installation Scheme, which closed to applications in 2008 and the Young Farmer priority category under the National Reserve which includes young farmers who commenced since 2010, I am glad to say that this category can be considered as a ‘group suffering from specific disadvantage’.

“The positive result of this development is that these young farmers will be eligible to apply under the second phase of the National Reserve to be given new entitlements or be given a top-up on the value of existing entitlements,” he added.

According to the Minister applications will be made available in early April 2015.

“This is a very welcome outcome that I feel will address an anomaly in the system and allow for fair and equal treatment for this particular category of young active farmers,” he said.

What will ‘old’ young farmers receive?

Minister Coveney has said farmers in the category will be paid on the basis of up to 90 entitlements, that is, 90 hectares.

“A decent sized farm by any standard,” he said.

“We do not want people with huge holdings to have a significant bump in their entitlements, but eligible farmers will be receiving payments to push up their entitlements to the national average.”