The current terms of the Young Farmer Scheme (YFS) mean that students must have fully completed their agricultural education by 15 May 2018 if they wish to avail of a 25% topup to the value of their entitlements, worth on average between €50 and €60/ha.

“The rules should be changed so that if a young farmer is finishing their education in 2018, they should be eligible for both the YFS and National Reserve,” according to Charlie McConalogue, Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesperson.

“The current rules mean that a lot of farmers are unfairly disqualified,” he continued. “If somebody is going to finish their course in 2018, they are already well through the education and have made a commitment to that education.

“If you have summer exams, then some farmers could be unlucky and miss out due to the days their exams fall on. It really is discouraging young farmers.”

EU regulations do allow for member states to change their eligibility requirements. In 2015, the terms of the YFS and National Reserve meant that farmers only had to be enrolled in a course to be eligible for the schemes. However, there was a risk that farmers would not complete their education, so the terms were changed to ensure farmers had completed their education by 15 May for both 2017 and 2018 schemes.

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