Young farmers who started out between 2010 and 2013, have lost out on €13m worth of funding.

The information came to light in response to a parliamentary question asked by Fianna Fáil spokesperson for agriculture Charlie McConalogue.

A new EU amendment allowed for the extension of the payment period for young farmers who had previously been locked out of the scheme due to missing the application timeframe.

However, the Department of Agriculture has stated that it can only extend the time period to young farmers who commenced farming in 2014 due to budgetary constraints.

This leaves up to 4,400 young farmers who commenced farming between 2010 and 2013 without Young Farmer payments.

“If Ireland implemented just the first part of the regulatory amendment it is estimated that the additional cost would be in excess of €5.5m in 2018 and €7.5m in 2019, which would result in a requirement for a linear cut to all farmers’ basic payments in order to fund this additional spend under the Young Farmers Scheme,” Minister Creed stated.

“It is estimated that the number of young farmers concerned, if just the first part of the of the amended regulatory provision was implemented for scheme applicants that commenced in the 2010 to 2013 period, is almost 1,900 in 2018 and just over 2,500 in 2019.”

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