Single Payment puzzle for farm tenants
Among those eligible to apply to the National Reserve, according to the Department of Agriculture, are “farmers who inherit, lease or otherwise receive a holding free of charge. In such cases, the farmer from whom the holding is obtained must have retired or died before the closing date for receipt of the Single Payment application in 2005.
In addition, the holding must have been leased to a third party during the reference period.
The regulation leaves some farmers who opted for the Early Retirement Scheme before 2000, and who leased their land during the 2000 to 2002 reference period, in a confusing situation.
“If they now lease the land in the normal way to a new party at the market value, the tenant is not entitled to entitlements from the National Reserve.
“But if they lease the land free of charge, the tenant can apply to the National Reserve for an allocation”, one source explained.
“In addition to depriving the owner of income from the land, a ‘free’ lease also raises serious questions for Revenue who are likely to hold that the tenant is receiving ‘benefit in kind’ from the deal”, he warned.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Early Retirement Scheme Farmers has reminded retired farmers who established some Single Payment entitlements, or were granted some “force majeure” payments, that they must now apply to activate the entitlements.
Once activated, entitlements must be claimed at least once every three years, or they will be lost to the National Reserve.
The Association recommends leasing out entitlements with the lands, to protect them. In such cases, copies of the lease agreement and transfer of entitlements from must be submitted by both the landowner and lessee with the Single Payment application form before the May 16 deadline.
