Emigrants must beware of bureaucratic obstacles if returning to a farm

Is your son or daughter, brother or sister, thinking of returning home to the family farm?

With economic recovery taking hold, GDP forecasted to grow at 3%, and unemployment down to 6.4%, a growing number of Irish emigrants are responding to the pull of the homeland.

CSO figures indicate that more than 20,000 returned home last year, due in part to improved economic prospects.

It is estimated that one in four households have been directly affected by emigration since 2006.

Emigration has especially challenged rural Ireland.

But some of the sons or daughters coming back could face unexpected obstacles, from renewing lapsed driving licences, to opening a bank account, to getting car insurance, or getting hold of farm payment entitlements.

Such obstacles have been highlighted by people such as Ciaran Staunton, chairman of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.

He brought them to public attention recently in his presentation to the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

He revealed bureaucratic obstacles which can severely impact on emigrants’ ability to re-adjust to life in Ireland — such as having to pay €2,000 for car insurance, or take the driving test again in some cases.

Mr Staunton warned there is “a complete lack of empathy from Government agencies across the board for the plight of returning citizens”.

For those hoping to return to a farming life, he highlighted how securing entitlements from the national reserve has become more problematic than ever.

Applicants must have a Green Certificate, and must show their tax returns for recent years.

“Everyone knows that when a person is working illegally [in the US], he or she cannot pay taxes. Therefore, he or she is deemed ineligible” added Mr Staunton, who has received letters from individuals in this dilemma.

“For the past two years, a number of people who have returned from the United States and elsewhere have been told they are not eligible to apply for payment from the national reserve, because they do not have a green certificate, or tax returns for 2013 or 2014”.

Mr Staunton disagrees with Agriculture Minister Michael Creed’s claim that there is ‘no flexibility’ around EU regulations which require applicants to young farmer schemes to have commenced their education prior to submitting applications.

“When it was raised on the floor of the House, the Minister of the day stated he was restrained by European Union regulations and his hands were tied,” said the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform spokesman.

“We wrote to a number of members of the European Parliament on the matter and Matt Carthy, MEP, wrote back stating there is no European regulation in place that requires a person to have a green certificate before he or she is deemed eligible for payment from the national reserve.

However, Minister Creed also outlined educational requirements to qualify for the National Reserve.

“Qualifying criteria for the National Reserve both for this and the previous National Reserve have included the requirement for applicants to meet an agricultural educational qualification at FETAC Level 6 or equivalent. This requirement is also applicable to the Young Farmers Scheme”.

Drivers licences

Exchanging a foreign driving licence for an Irish one can also be problematic when emigrants return.

They can exchange licenses from an European Economic Area (EEA) country, Australia, Switzerland or South Africa, for a fee of €55.

The Irish Government has recently done licence deals with some regions in Canada.

However, certain countries do not have an approved exchange process with Ireland, and returning emigrants have to go through the application process in Ireland, starting with a driver’s theory test.

Mr Staunton has highlighted this discrepancy: “If they return from California, their Californian driving licence is no good, but if they come back from Canada, their licence is deemed to be fine and can be changed for an Irish one”. along those lines.