Following the survey carried out in May 2025, the scheme to support Long Established Young Farmers - commonly referred to as 'Forgotten Farmers' - is open for submission of online applications as of today (Tuesday, July 22).

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was allocated €5 million in Budget 2025 to provide support to this group. Applicants can avail of a payment of up to €5,000 (depending on application numbers).

Online applications can be submitted until 5:30p.m on August 13.

The Long Established Young Farmers, or Forgotten Farmers, is a group defined as young farmers who were under the age of 40 in 2015, had commenced in agriculture prior to 2008, did not receive young farmer installation aid, and were not eligible for young farmer supports under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2015 due to the date they had first set up in agriculture.

To be eligible for the scheme to support Long Established Young Farmers, an applicant must:

Have submitted a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application under a herd number on which the farmers is included in 2025;
Have submitted an application under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in 2015 under a herd number on which the farmer is included;
Be aged no more than 40 in 2015 (born on or after January 1, 1975);
Have set up as the head of an agricultural holding for the first time on or before December 31, 2007;
Have successfully completed a recognised agricultural education course at FETAC Level 6 or equivalent by May 29, 2015;
Did not previously benefit under the Young Farmer Installation Aid Scheme (Installation Aid);
Did not benefit under the Basic Payment Scheme National Reserve, including allocations under the so-called 'Scottish Derogation' (which was for persons who never held entitlements under the Single Payment Scheme but who actively farmed in 2013).

The application must be submitted online through the Agfood portal.

The amount paid to successful applicants is dependent on the number of successfulapplications received, but this amount will not exceed €5,000 to any one successful applicant.

The department said that a successful application to the scheme to support Long Established Young Farmers will not confer an automatic entitlement to a payment under the scheme, due to rules on state aid, which this new scheme falls under.

Crosschecks will be made by the department to ensure that cumulative state aid payments, across various state aid measures, made to individual participants in the respect of the previous three fiscal years do not exceed the €50,000 state aid limit under EU rules.