Due to a last-minute clarification from the European Commission, farmers who wish to avail of the 2015 National Reserve (NR) and Young Farmer Scheme (YFS) top-ups now need to have started their agricultural education by 31 December 2015 rather than the initial stated date of 30 September 2016.

In a statement issued Wednesday 11 November, Teagasc, Ireland’s nationally accredited agricultural education provider, confirmed this news and added that it is now making arrangements to enrol all affected 2015 NR/YFS applicants who need to start their Level 6 FETAC education, more commonly known as the Green Cert, before the end of the year.

Teagasc estimates there are in excess of 1,200 NR/YFS scheme applicants on Teagasc lists who will need to enrol by the end of 2015.

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Preparations currently under way by Teagasc to cater for this higher than anticipated level of enrolment include arranging course commencement sessions for mid-December and sending reminder letters to those who have not yet sent back their application for enrolment for this year. The body is also looking into recruiting temporary staff to help with this sudden surge in numbers.

Teagasc said that applicants who return a completed course application form will be notified of the date, time and venue of the course to which they will be assigned. Course commencement will incur a deposit fee and young farmer organisation Macra na Feirme is calling for this to be a nominal amount as young farmers were, up to now, of the understanding that they would be enrolling some time before September 2016 and incurring the fees at that later date.

Pent-up demand

Teagasc is stressing that due to the “extraordinary level of pent-up demand” from students there is “very limited flexibility” with regard to course locations and schedules. The body says it is therefore “vital” that 2015 NR/YFS applicants accept course offers as they arise.

This last part will not come as good news to those students who for practical reasons cannot start the course this year. This includes students with work and/or family commitments, those who are currently abroad, or those who have planned the practical part of the course around a certain project on the farm which is not due to be carried out until late next year.

One such student is Johnny Connolly, a 34-year-old forestry farmer from Maynooth, who enrolled for the full-time Green Cert forestry course starting in Ballyhaise College in September 2016.

After he heard the news Connolly rang Ballyhaise and was offered a place on the Green Cert night course, a course which has already begun. But Connolly cannot commit to a course this year because he is frequently abroad for work and had planned the practical part of the course around a forestry project he was planning for late next year.

Connolly said the situation is a “nightmare” and questioned how the deadline could be changed at such short notice.

Listen to our podcast clarifying the Green Cert situation below:

Responding to the news, the Irish Farmers Association expressed concern that the rules have been changed.

The organisation said: “Changing the date now is a problem for many young farmers and it is important that flexibility is shown that will accommodate young farmers who participate in some minimum level of educational course before the end of the year.”

Read more: Colleges tight-lipped but students worried over Green Cert changes