There are no plans to extend the eligibility criteria for the Long Established Young Farmers scheme, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon has confirmed.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said it received over 1,200 applications under the scheme for so-called 'forgotten farmers'.

The measure, officially called the Scheme to Support Long Established Young Farmers, launched on July 22 and closed to applications on August 13 this year.

Limerick TD Niall Collins asked Minister Heydon if consideration has been given to broadening the age and time restrictions for applicants who are excluded from the scheme.

Minister Heydon said there are no plans to extend the eligibility criteria.

"Since the time my department was first approached in 2015 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 were not eligible for young farmer supports under the CAP from 2015," he said.

"The request for support for the forgotten farmer group in 2015 was for inclusion under the Basic Payment Scheme National Reserve as a group suffering from specific disadvantage.

"This definition of forgotten farmer has remained consistent since 2015.

"The CAP from 2015 provided supports to young farmers who had established their holdings from 2010."

It was announced in March 2015 that the group commonly known as ‘old young farmers’, who established their holding between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009, and who, due to the timeframe of setting up their holding did not benefit from either Installation Aid or the Young Farmer category of the National Reserve, could be considered as a ‘group suffering from specific disadvantage’.

"The result was that this group was eligible to apply for support under the National Reserve measure of the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme," Minister Heydon added.

Criticism

Speaking after last week's meeting of the Farmers' Charter, deputy president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) Eamon Carroll, said that the department is confident of payment early December under the forgotten farmers' scheme.

However, Carroll had advised that not all farmers who applied for that scheme will receive payment, as some were deemed ineligible, according to the department.

“We were critical of the terms and conditions of this scheme when it was set out and our criticisms have been vindicated," Carroll said.

"Many deserving farmers have been excluded, and we still think that it’s possible – and would be the right thing to do – to revisit this scheme and put in place some kind of reasonable appeals mechanism for those farmers deemed ineligible and excluded.

"As it stands, ICMSA believes that the forgotten farmers are being forgotten again."