A delegation of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), led by its president Francie Gorman has set out its priorities for the upcoming Budget 2025 on October 1, in a meeting with government ministers.
The IFA delegation met with Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe yesterday (Tuesday, August 27), to discuss its priorities for the budget.
Speaking after the meeting, Gorman said the IFA insisted that Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) ceilings have to take higher costs into account, with additional funding needed for the new slurry storage scheme.
Last week, the opening of a dedicated Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme and eligibility changes for the low emission slurry spreading (LESS) scheme under TAMS was announced by the government.
The scheme under will provide a 70% grant rate for additional storage facilities for managing the importation of organic fertilisers with an investment ceiling of €90,000 per holding solely for nutrient importation storage.
Budget 2025
Gorman said the meeting with Minister Chambers and Minister Donohoe was an opportunity to discuss the “significant pressures” on farm families due to a “massive” 57% drop in farm incomes over the last 12 months.
The recently published Teagasc National Farm Survey 2023, which is representative of almost 85,000 farms in Ireland, shows that the average family farm income in Ireland dropped by 57% last year to €19,925.
The IFA president said there was a particular focus on the need to support “vulnerable” sectors. The delegation included the association’s farm business chair, Bill O’Keeffe and its rural development chair, John Curran.
“We made the point that any support for SMEs [small and medium sized enterprises] should extend to farm enterprises, which are also struggling to make ends meet because of higher costs and the burden of regulation,” he said.
The IFA delegation also raised the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund which was announced in last year’s budget, and said that a “substantial element of it has to be ringfenced” to support farmers in meeting climate targets.
The IFA president also said that the reliefs that currently exist for the agriculture sector must be extended. He added that anything that facilitates generational renewal should be part of a package for agriculture.
According to Gorman, the minister “took on board” the IFA’s position that active farmers must be removed from the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT). He added that “Budget 2025 would be a measure of the government’s commitment to farming”.
“Whatever is agreed in October, we do need to see measures rolled out much more quickly and efficiently. We cannot have a repeat of the ACRES [Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme] fiasco,” Gorman said.