Speaking in the Dáil last week, Simon Coveney said that young farmers who established their holding in 2008 and 2009 but who missed out on both the Young Farmer Installation Scheme (YFIS) and the Young farmer priority category of the National Reserve will be included as a non-priority category under the "specific disadvantage" provision of the National Reserve.

The minister was responding to a question put to him by Deputy Denis Naughten which asked if he will extend the specific disadvantage provision under the National Reserve to cover young farmers who became established since the closure of the previous National Reserve. The closing date for the previous National Reserve was 15 May 2012.

The minister qualified his answer to Deputy Naughten by adding that young farmers and new entrants who applied for the 2015 National Reserve are considered under EU regulations as priority categories.

The specific disadvantage provision is an optional provision whereby Member States can use the National Reserve to allocate new entitlements or give a top-up on the value of existing entitlements for persons suffering from a “specific disadvantage”.

Young farmers who wish to apply for this provision will be able to do so from early April.

90 hectare cap on the National Reserve

Coveney added that after consultation with stakeholders in the Direct Payments Advisory Committee he would not reduce the cap of 90 hectares on the National Reserve. He added that a cap of 90 is appropriate to the maximum number of entitlements allocated under the scheme.

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