Under the terms and conditions of the 2017 National Reserve, applicants “must have successfully completed an agricultural qualification at FETAC Level 6 or its equivalent by 15 May 2017” and submit a copy of their certificate. This is a stricter requirement than the 2015 rule, which accepted applications from students so long as they had commenced their course.

The current terms and conditions make allowances for those who have completed their course by 15 May but have not yet received final certification. They can submit a form signed by a college representative certifying that they have “fully completed” their course, “including but not limited to; completed all exams, practicals, course work etc.” Their application will be processed once they have obtained their formal Green Cert.

A spokesperson for Teagasc told the Irish Farmers Journal that individual courses had different completion dates depending on when they started and obtained resources to organise teaching and practicals. For example, the students receiving their certificates in Kildalton college this week will be qualified in time to apply for the National Reserve; but those at other colleges ending their courses after mid-May will not.

2015 rush

When the National Reserve opened in 2015, applicants were initially told they had until the end of September 2016 to begin agricultural education. In November that year, the deadline was suddenly shortened to 31 December 2015, leading colleges to hold multiple “commencement events” for students in a pre-Christmas rush.

Those students who missed deadlines at the time but stuck with their agricultural education in the hope of accessing the National Reserve at a later stage will not be considered this year, as completing the full level five and six components of the Green Cert typically takes two years.

There was no funding for the National Reserve in 2016 and the availability of the scheme in future years remains uncertain.

“I missed out the last time, I’m missing out again,” a 36-year-old farmer from Kilkenny who will finish his course in October told the Irish Farmers Journal. “I was going to take on the whole farm this year,” added the farmer, who wished to remain anonymous. “I would need the National Reserve to pay off my parents.”

Are you affected by the education completion deadline for the National Reserve? Please contact Thomas Hubert at thubert@farmersjournal.ie or 0831481664 to tell us your story.

Read more

Your questions answered on the 2017 National Reserve