Get your figures right for land eligibility pro-rata bands

Up to 10% of a land parcel can consist of scattered, small ineligible areas, but the parcel will be fully eligible, thanks to EU legislation which provides for a pro-rata system to facilitate area reductions up to 10%.

However, if over 70% of the parcel is ineligible, it is deemed 100% ineligible.

Farmers unaware of this could get a shock later in the year when all the numbers have been crunched by the Department of Agriculture, warns Jerry O’Sullivan, a farmer in Ballingeary, Co Cork, and a local politician.