An independent TD has called for the age after which one is no longer considered a ‘young farmer’ to be clarified, during a Dáil debate last week.
Sligo-Leitrim TD Marian Harkin noted that the young farmer definition used by Revenue is not the same as the definition used by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine or the EU.
“The Revenue’s interpretation of the qualifying age for definition as a ‘Young Farmer’ differs from that of the EU and of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and must urgently be clarified,” she argued.
“Revenue’s insistence that a young farmer could not be over 35 is inhibiting land mobility and generational renewal and failing to support necessary change in the structure of land ownership vital to ensuring a vibrant agriculture sector for the future,” Harkin remarked.
She noted that, according to recent data, only 5% of farmers in Ireland were aged 35 or less.
“If a person over 35 years-of-age wishes to buy a piece of land he or she will pay stamp duty, according to Revenue, and this conflicts with government and EU policy which defines a young farmer as up to the age 40. This must be resolved,” the Sligo-Leitrim TD insisted.
Funding ‘too-low’ for agri-environment schemes
During the same Dáil debate with Minister Fleming, Harkin also raised the topic of funding for agri-environment schemes, arguing that the funding would not meet requirements.
Referring to the rolling over of funding for certain agricultural schemes, she said that the money allocated to the new pilot rural environment scheme “was insufficient for the numbers of farmers exiting the current rural agri-environment protection schemes”.
She argued that the €79 million allocated in budget 2021 for this purpose would be “totally insufficient to deliver a viable scheme”.
“Farmers need proper payment for participating in the pilot environment scheme,” the TD added.