One of the main reasons to engage in a training course is to improve their skills, competence, and employability. It also ensures eligibility for Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Marine schemes and it allows for a relief from stamp duty on either the transfer, or purchase, of land where all of the following criteria are satisfied:
a) The recipient is under 35
b) The recipient has achieved the appropriate qualification (Young Trained Farmer Status)
c) The recipient spends not less than 50% of his/her normal time farming the land for a period of five years from the date of execution
d) The individual retains ownership of the land for the entire five-year period
As mentioned above, section 81AA of the stamp duty manual, Transfers of land to young trained farmers outlines the relevant qualifications which are deemed necessary, however, where an individual obtains alternative qualifications, for example from another jurisdiction, it may be possible for the individual to still claim young trained farmer relief, if the applicant obtains approval from Teagasc, certifying that the qualifications obtained are equivalent to the Irish qualifications.
It is also worth noting that if the land is being transferred into joint ownership; all joint owners will need to satisfy the criteria set out above.