Regulation 13 Amendment of the Direct Payments Regulation

(1)

The Direct Payments Regulation shall be amended as follows.

(2)

In Article 5A –

(a)

for paragraphs 1 and 2, substitute “The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs shall determine the total ceiling for Northern Ireland for each year prior to the commencement of payments”;

(b)

omit paragraph 3;

(c)

omit Annex II.

(3)

In Article 30, after paragraph 12, add –

“13.

A young farmer or a farmer commencing their agricultural activity is not eligible to apply for an allocation of payment entitlements in a year after 2025.”.

(4)

In Article 32, after paragraph 1, insert—

“1A.

The relevant authority may make additional payments based on the amount paid under –

(i)

the Basic Payment Scheme;

(ii)

the Farm Sustainability Transition Scheme; or

(iii)

the Farm Sustainability Scheme”.

(5)

In Article 50, after paragraph 11, add—

“12.

This Article shall not apply after 2025 except where a young farmer is eligible to receive the payment in 2025.

13.

A young farmer who received the payment in 2025 or earlier may continue to receive the payment until the end of the 5 year period specified in paragraph 5.”

(6)

In Article 53—

(a)

for paragraph 1 substitute “The relevant authority shall determine the amount that may be used to finance measures under Article 52.”;

(b)

omit paragraphs 3 and 5.