The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

B O O K

R E V I E W S

MAY/JUNE 1995

Irish Farmers Handbook 1995

Published by O'Sullivan & Co.

Softback; 376pp; Price: £8.95.

This book was written by Martin

O'Sullivan, Edmond Connolly and

Hugh O'Neill, who are practising

Agricultural Consultants in County

Tipperary. The introduction states that

"the authors have attempted to provide

practical working aid that would benefit

not only the farmer but also

professionals dealing with farmers".

This is a book to be consulted when the

need arises rather than being read from

cover to cover. The book is divided into

thirteen sections. Each of these sections

is then further subdivided so that, for

example, Section 10, Taxation, is

broken down into further sub-sections

dealing with income tax, value-added

tax, capital acquisitions tax, capital

gains tax, stamp duty, residential

property tax, probate tax and P.R.S.I.

Of the fifteen sections in the book four

will be of interest to the solicitor. These

are the ones dealing with the Early

Retirement Scheme; Milk and Livestock

Quotas; Taxation; and Farm Business

and Family Matters.

The Department literature in relation to

the Farm Retirement Scheme is at times

vague and uncertain. The chapter in

relation to the Scheme follows the

Department literature without attempting

to simplify the requirements so as to

make them easily understood. The

reference on page 102 to the additional

land which a transferee must acquire so

as to satisfy the enlargement require-

ment of the Scheme is incorrect. Under

the Scheme if a farming transferree takes

over land from a transferor he "must

expand the area of the agricultural

holding as constituted on the 30th July,

1992, or on the date of the transfer

whichever is the greater, by five hectares

or 1 0% whichever is the greater". The

example does not reflect this.

The 1994 milk quota regulations extend

to thirty two pages together with twenty

one pages of Schedules. The handbook

has distilled this into five pages and in

doing so loses some of the more

important points which concern

solicitors. While the book refers to the

fact that the farmer may retain his quota

where land is sold to a public authority

or for use in the public interest for non-

agricultural purpose it does not refer to

applications which may be made to the

Minister under regulation 7 whereby a

farmer may sell a portion of his milk

producing holding and retain the quota

on the remainder provided he satisfies

the criteria as laid down in the

regulations.

While it describes itself as the 1995

handbook, the C.A.T. threshold amount

as calculated uses the 1994 multiplier

rather than the 1995. It makes no

reference to the fact that the threshold

amount will alter annually because of

indexation.

There are some errors in the contents

section. "Tourism" is referred to as

being on page 93 whereas in fact it

appears on page 92.

Despite the above criticism this is a

book which will be of benefit to farmers

in their dealings both with the

Department of Agriculture; the Revenue

and their legal advisers. For example, if

a farmer has studied the section on

transferring the family farm he will

have an idea of the stamp duty and gift

tax implications involved.

In its present format this is not a book

which solicitors would be inclined to

use by way of reference. There are no

footnotes referring to the relevant

sections of statutes and regulations in

respect of the law quoted. Solicitors

need to be able to refer to source law.

From the title it would appear that this

book may be produced on an annual

basis. In any revision the authors will

have to decide whether to opt for the

farming market or to make the book

more legalistic and therefore more

attractive to solicitors and other

professionals.

Own Binchy

•The Irish Farmers Handbook is

available from O'Sullivan & Co.,

Clonmel Road, Carrick-on-Suir,

Co. Tipperary or leading

booksellers.

Land Law in Ireland

by Andrew B. Lyall, Ph.D., Lecturer

in Law, University College, Dublin.

Pages 1104. Price: £47.50 (pb), £65

(hb).

Since the second edition of Wylie's

Irish Land Law

was published at the

beginning of 1986, there have been

enacted up to the end of 1993, in this

jurisdiction alone, some eighteen

statutes dealing with land law including

the Status of Children Act, 1987, the

Judicial Separation and Family Law

Reform Act, 1989 and the "Planning

Acts" of 1990, 1992 and 1993. There

have also been a number of significant

or interesting judicial decisions

affecting the subject during the same

period. These include, for example,

Gleeson

Feehan

[1993]. 2 IR 113 in

which the Supreme Court,

distinguishing

Drohan

[ 1981 ] 1LRM 473, held that s. 45 of the

1957 Act (as substituted by s. 126 of

the Succession Act 1965) applied to

claims of persons beneficially entitled

under a will, on intestacy or under s. Ill

of the 1965 Act, against a personal

representative administering the estate,

but not to claims fly personal

representatives against the estate,

Bank

of Ireland

Fitzmaurice

[1989] 1LRM

4 52 which, by implication, cast doubt

Gatien 's

authority and

Re Dunne

[1988] IR 155 in which O'Hanlon J. had

to consider a will which left freehold

land subject to a condition that it was

not to be transferred to "any member of

the Meredith families of O'Moore's

173