The number of farmers and agricultural workers in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit has been reducing in recent years, having more than halved since 2012.
Political party Aontú requested the figures detailing the number of farmers or agri workers who have sought Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Benefit, or family income support in each of the past 10 years and to date in 2022, from the Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys.
Deputy Peadar Tóibín has said that the reduction in farmers seeking welfare supports may be due to a large number of farmers leaving the sector.
The table below shows the number of applicants from the agri-sector seeking income support since 2012.
Year Jobseeker’s Allowance Jobseeker’s Benefit Working Family Payment 2021 5,721 343 284 2020 6,584 372 568 2019 7,043 482 650 2018 7,719 474 727 2017 8,752 521 816 2016 10,041 587 849 2015 11,548 748 862 2014 12,910 880 773 2013 13,494 1,002 561 2012 14,199 1,359 449
In response to the Aontú parliamentary question (PQ), the minister stated:
“As of the end of August 2022, there were 332 farmers or agricultural sector workers in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance, and 5,171 in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit.
“Due to the movement of the Working Family Payment (WFP) scheme, formerly called Family Income Supplement, from a legacy system to a current system, the number of farmers or agricultural sector workers in receipt of WFP at the end of August is unavailable.”
Deputy Toibín said: “Farmers are being absolutely hammered in recent months – the input costs of farming have been spiralling out of control – from fertiliser to fuel, the costs are absolutely crippling.
“The output price for produce hasn’t been increasing to the same rate. I’ve spoken to dozens of farmers who have left the sector, many are emigrating, and many are moving to the construction sector.
“Nobody should be expected to work for a loss. Young people from rural areas are hitting for Australia in their droves. The image of a boarded-up farm in a rural area is heart-breaking and highlights the failure of successive governments to support rural Ireland,” Toibín added.
The TD admitted that there are factors such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which are outside of the government’s control, but claimed that there is “no excusing the likes of the carbon tax and the punitive measures taken by the government against farmers”.
Aontú claims it was the only party to vote against the Climate Action Bill, stating that it did so because the party believes that “punishing farmers is not the way to tackle climate change”.