The Gazette 1995

MAY/JUNE 1995

GAZETTE

B O O K

R E V I E W S

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

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

Irish Farmers Handbook 1995

Published by O'Sullivan & Co. Softback; 376pp; Price: £8.95.

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

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.

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 v Feehan [1993]. 2 IR 113 in which the Supreme Court, distinguishing Drohan v. 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 v. Fitzmaurice [1989] 1LRM 4 52 which, by implication, cast doubt on 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