Department assists Reserve applicants ahead of online deadline Tuesday

To assist young farmers and new entrants in completing and submitting online applications in the National Reserve and Young Farmers Scheme, the Department of Agriculture offers one-to-one assistance, up to next Tuesday, at its offices in Portlaoise.

The closing date for receipt of online applications for the two priority categories of ‘young farmer’ and ‘new entrant’ under the National Reserve is March 31.

For farmers experiencing difficulty in submitting their application and supporting documentation online, Department officials will be available at Government Offices, Old Abbeyleix Road, Portlaoise, from 9.30am to 12.30pm, and from 2pm to 5pm.

Prospective applicants who wish to avail of this service should call 0761-064446 (LoCall) to agree an appointed time for their visit.

It is available only to farmers who hold a registered herd number and are registered for online services with the Department.

Applicants allocated an appointment should bring the following necessary items when attending: login, password and PIN details for Department online services; photo ID; herd number; and all supporting documents as required under the terms and conditions of the National Reserve and Young Farmers Schemes.

For prospective applicants unable to access the online application system, due to applications for a herd number or an amendment to an existing herd number prior to March 31 not yet having been allocated or processed, a separate manual application is available to download at agriculture.gov.ie/nationalreserveandyfs/ from the Department’s website.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney recently announced that ‘old- young farmers’ will be accommodated in the 2015 National Reserve Scheme.

He said, “Farmers who established their holding between January 1, 2008 and December 31 , 2009, and who did not benefit from Installation Aid, will be eligible to apply.” These are ‘old-young farmers’, ineligible to qualify as a ‘young farmer’ in 2015 in the new Basic Payment Scheme (only farmers who established their holding on or after January 1, 2010 can qualify).

Mr Coveney said, “I am delighted to announce that this group will now be eligible to apply to the National Reserve”.

The National Reserve in the new Basic Payment Scheme gives priority to ‘young farmers’ and ‘new entrants to farming’. However, an optional provision allows member states allocate new entitlements or a top-up on the value of existing entitlements for persons who suffer from a ‘specific disadvantage’ — and ‘old-young farmer’ group can be categorised as such a group.

All National Reserve terms and conditions that apply for a ‘young farmer’ also apply to the ‘old-young farmers’ — with the exception of the date that the old young farmer established their holding.

The ‘old-young farmers’ will be catered for under phase two of the National Reserve, and the online application for this will be made available in early April, 2015.

As for the ‘young farmer’, they must be aged no more than 40 in the calendar year in which they are applying, and must hold a qualification in agriculture at FETAC level 6.