Applicants to the 2017 National Reserve will be required to meet specific agricultural education requirements before May 15, the Minister for Agriculture said.

In order to qualify for the National Reserve, applicants must have successfully completed a recognised course in agriculture giving rise to an award at FETAC level 6 or its equivalent, Minister Creed added.

Minister Creed was responding to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fail’s Agriculture Spokesperson Charlie McConalogue recently.

“Where an applicant has fully completed their course by May 15, but has not yet been verified as successful or received final certification, a letter from the college should be submitted with the National Reserve application.

Applications will not be further processed until the Department receives confirmation from the applicant that they have successfully passed all requirements to receive certification.

“Under the 2015 National Reserve an exception was made which allowed students to qualify under the scheme before completion of their agricultural course.

“However, this exception did not receive the approval of the EU Commission,” he said.

Decisions in relation to the National Reserve and Young Farmers Scheme, including educational qualifications are made in consultation with the Direct Payments Advisory Committee, Minister Creed said.

This committee includes members of the main farming bodies and advisory services, he added.

Terms and conditions of the 2017 National Reserve and Young Farmers Scheme are available online.

A list of acceptable courses which will meet the educational requirements for the National Reserve is also available on the Department’s website.

Where a qualification is not included on this list, a letter of equivalence from Teagasc confirming the educational qualification held by the applicant fulfils the requirements of the scheme must be submitted, according to the Department.

National Reserve now open for online applications

Yesterday, Minister Creed announced that applications to the National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme for 2017 were now welcome through the online application system.

As previously announced by Minister Creed, just over €5m has been provided in funding for the National Reserve in 2017 – following a ‘linear cut’ to the value of all Basic Payment Scheme entitlements.

This level of funding is equivalent to the amount of unspent funds under the Young Farmers Scheme in 2015, which was added to the Basic Payment Scheme financial ceiling.

The National Reserve is set to provide priority access to the mandatory categories of ‘Young Farmer’ and ‘New Entrant to Farming’, as per the EU regulations governing the operation of the National Reserve.