215 Mr. Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the conditions that had to be compiled with by an applicant in order to qualify under the farm installation aid scheme before it was suspended on 7 August 1997. [4782/99]

To qualify for aid under the 1994-97 scheme of installation aid a valid application had to be lodged in my Department showing that the applicant was under 35 years at the date of first setting up as a full-time farmer. The farm had to be owned or held on lease for a minimum period of five years. Where the land was owned, the transfer documents were required to be stamped by the Revenue Commissioners and lodged for registration in the Land Registry by 7 August 1997 and subsequently registered in the applicant's name before the premium was payable. In the case of leased land, the lease had to be stamped by the Revenue Commissioners and, where necessary, approved by the Irish Land Commission by 7 August 1997. The applicant was also required to have the herd number registered in his/her name by that date. Since the applicant was allowed up to two years from the date of setting up on the farm to achieve the minimum labour requirement of one man work unit and to satisfy the occupational skill and competence criteria, evidence of meeting these criteria was accepted by my Department subsequent to receipt of an application.