The government has been urged “to be honest with farmers and tell them straight out that this budget gives a clear reflection that they are not wanted”, according to an Independent TD in relation to Budget 2024.
Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice has set out in the Dáil that he believes some of the measures announced in Budget 2024 for farmers are “not new”.
He said that the Minister for Finance should “be honest, open and straightforward with people and not try to doctor up money that he did not give to anybody”.
According to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, Budget 2024 has a “clear focus on protecting farm and fisher incomes”.
But the Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway said in relation to the €100 million announced in Budget 2024 in supports for beef and sheep sectors – which is broken down as €200/cow and €20/ewe – the €200 for suckler cows “was announced this time last year”.
Fitzmaurice added:”People had to apply last spring. We attended meetings all over the country. Farmers around Ireland need to know the €200 on the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) was announced last year.
“There is no new SCEP this year opening for next year. Any young farmer who wants to go into a scheme relating to suckler cows should know that there is no new scheme.”
He also claimed there is also “nothing new” in the various Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) developments also unveiled in Budget 2024.
According to Minister Charlie McConalogue, there will be a higher rate of TAMS grant (70%) for new tanks for those importing slurry and a new separate TAMS investment ceiling for slurry storage tanks following on from the budget.
Farmers
Deputy Fitzmaurice was also sceptical about other key measures highlighted in Budget 2024 to provide supports for farmers, including in relation to a dairy beef scheme.
He said: “The €6.5 million for dairy beef has been on the go for the past few years.
“Every farmer should know that it is not new money.”
Deputy Fitzmaurice told the Dáil that if “we do the maths for the agricultural sector, we will see that people are going to be down money”.
EU proposals
Separately, the Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway claimed that new EU regulations could come into effect which would undermine the “rights and traditions of Irish farmers”.
Deputy Fitzmaurice said that in order for farmers to qualify for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme they will have to adhere to certain conditions.
He said: “These restrictions represent more than just an affront to our agricultural practices, they reflect a blatant indifference to the economic and cultural essence of rural Ireland.
“Proposals that restrict ploughing, shoring, new drains and sausage turf cutting on areas applied for under BISS will corner many farmers on marginal land into a dilemma, in the future.
“The proposals would mean that farmers must choose between sacrificing their single farm payment, thus farming without grants, or watching their lands morph into wetlands as new drainage will be outlawed.”