The minister for agriculture, food and the marine has secured additional funding in Budget 2025 that is likely to put more money in the pockets of farmers across the country.
It is understood that beef and sheep farmers will see an increase in the payments that they receive from key schemes.
In particular farmers who are part of the Beef Welfare Scheme will see their payments increase from €50/calf to €75 up to a maximum of 40 eligible calves.
A total of 23,720 suckler farmers have applied for the Beef Welfare Scheme, according to latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
It is also expected that sheep farmers – who are currently receiving €20 ewe under combined sheep schemes – will see this increase to €25/ewe.
Separately there will also be an additional allocation to the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme, where farmers currently receive a payment of €20 per eligible calf up to a maximum of 50 calves per holding, will see this double up to a maximum of €40/calf.
Budget 2025
Earlier this year the Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, committed to a €30 million support fund for the tillage sector in 2024 at his party’s Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis.
This is expected to be included in today’s budget and will deliver targeted support for farmers.
Separately measures to support farm families in relation to their work on climate, biodiversity and water quality will also be fully provided in Budget 2025.
It is also understood that Minister McConalogue has been pushing for a number of taxation measures in relation to inheritance, Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) reliefs and on the controversial Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT).
Last week the Tánaiste told the Dáil that “all parties in the house are of a view that productive farmers, people who are actively working their land, should not be captured by the RZLT, that certainly is the position of the three party leaders”.
He said the key objective was to “exclude people who are active farmers, who did not either seek zoning or who have no intention of zoning and who want to continue on with the bona fide economic activity”.