The level of activity is generally assessed by the amount of animals a farmer has relative to his area of land. This is referred to as the farmer's stocking density.
The Minister for Agriculture announced on budget day in December that horses would be excluded from the calculation to establish the minimum stocking levels for eligibility for payments under the scheme.
This will result in many horse producers being excluded from the scheme. Horse Sport Ireland CEO, Damian McDonald, said that the Department had explained that over 2,000 herd owners had qualified for the scheme last year through having only horses on their lands.
"The Department are concerned that low value horses are being purchased purely for the purpose of qualifying land for the scheme. They did however make it clear that they do not want to exclude bona fide horse breeders," he said.
Seeking resolution
"Horse Sport Ireland is concerned about the exclusion of horses and in particular the precedent this might set. However, we will be engaging with the Department over the coming weeks to find a resolution to the issue. The production and breeding of horses is a legitimate and long standing farming activity," he added.
"In order to qualify for this scheme, applicants are only required to keep the animals for three months and there is some concern about what happens to these horses when the three months are up," he said.
"Obviously there will need to be detailed discussion about how to establish the difference between a genuine producer and those who are simply buying horses to qualify for the scheme, but we will continue to engage with the Department to see if a satisfactory formula can be found," he explained.
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