I welcome the Draft County Development Plan’s recognition of agriculture and the importance of promoting farm diversification and new employment opportunities with our rural communities. It is also important to recognise and support the continued development of existing farm enterprises by encouraging younger generations to take on the running of these farms. However, it would appear that the proposed policies within the draft CDP are very onerous in this regard, in particular where persons other that a famers son or daughter or favoured niece or nephew are concerned, as the wording refers specifically to “full time” farming.
In Section 5.3 Planning for the Future Growth and Development of Rural Areas, the Draft CDP makes reference to the findings of the Teagasc National Farm Survey 2019, stating that 52.5% of farm families nationally depend on off-farm income.
However, the Rural Settlement Policy (specifically objectives KCDP 5-12 and 5-13) make provisions only for full-time farmers; “persons taking over the ownership and running of a farm on a full-time basis” and “other persons working full-time in farming”. Given that 52.5% of farm families nationally rely on off-farm income, I respectively suggest that this is unduly restrictive and the reference to “full-time” should be removed.