IFJ debate: candidates commit to farm retirement scheme

Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy has said he would “absolutely” support a farm retirement scheme.

He told the Irish Farmers Journal live election debate on Monday night on Tullamore Farm that a retirement scheme “needs to be dealt with in the holistic approach to how we save the family farm”.

He said Sinn Féin has proposed a commission on the future of the Irish family farm.

“One of the reasons why many farmers aren’t actually retiring, apart from the fact that the supports aren’t there, is because there’s nobody there to take over from them because their children are looking at the income streams that are coming from the farm and they’re saying there’s no way that I can try and continue on that legacy,” he said.

Charlie McConalogue of Fianna Fáil said it was Fianna Fáil that last introduced the farm retirement scheme that was in place.

“And scrapped it,” Minister Creed said quietly. McConalogue continued that “it worked very well”.

“There hasn’t been once since and I think as part of the next pillar II that needs to be part of the consideration.

“Really there needs to be a lot of engagement with farm organisations as to how we can introduce a scheme that will properly allow for younger people to get involved.

“The key thing alongside that as well is to ensure there’s a good income for young people because that’s the one thing that’s missing,” he said.

Regeneration

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said schemes need to be designed to get more young people into farming.

“The principle pillars of regeneration in terms of getting more young people involved in farming and so in the context of the debate we’ve had around CAP in pillar II obviously we’ll be designing schemes that will assist us in terms of that ambition in getting more young people into farming.

“One of those problems is that in many instances the farm would support the younger generation and older retiring couple as well. I think that was one of the great benefits of the previous retirement scheme.

“Certainly within the context of that rural development plan to be designed once the budget is finalised, I think that is one of the areas where we need to look at how we incentivise further the intergenerational transfer and a retirement scheme is certainly something we’d be open to looking at,” he said.

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