PCC may safeguard leased entitlements

A permanent transfer of entitlements this year may safeguard the value of leased entitlements, said Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

However, this issue is still being negotiated with the EU Commission, with Ireland seeking increased flexibility for leased entitlements.

Answering a Dail question by Éamon Ó Cuív, TD, Mr Coveney said difficulty arises where lessors leased out their entire holding and entitlements in 2013 and consequently do not have an automatic “allocation right”. As a consequence, they will neither be eligible to receive entitlements in their own right, nor can they enter into a Private Contract Clause (PCC) to transfer entitlements to the lessee. The value of 100% leased entitlements would be lost to both lessor and lessee, but would remain in the overall fund for redistribution.