Government urged to restore funding for Land Mobility Service
The government has been urged to restore funding of €100,000 to the Land Mobility Service.
There were no new specific measures to enhance land mobility announced in Budget 2026.
The service has facilitated over 1,000 farm partnerships, leasing agreements and succession arrangements across Ireland, Senator Victor Boyhan has said.
The Land Mobility Service is "widely acknowledged as a practical, on-the-ground intervention" the senator said.
It helps younger farmers "gain access to land, with the benefit of knowledge transfer from older farmers who want to step back and see the farm prosper".
Succession
"The Land Mobility Service provides the structures and guidance farm families need to make succession and land mobility a reality," Senator Boyhan continued.
“The Commission on Generational Renewal was established to address structural issues facing Irish agriculture, including the aging farming population and the limited pathways for younger farmers.
"Its recommendations are clear - government need to provide financial backing to support and enable young and new entrants into farming.
“Targeted, practical measures and government investment is essential to ensuring farming remains sustainable for future generations."
Senator Boyhan called on the Minister for Agriculture to support Macra’s call to secure the €100,000 funding for the mobility service for 2026.
He was responding to a call by Macra president Josephine O'Neill who addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine this week.
Crucial support
O'Neill said that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has long been a "crucial support" for young farmers.
"We as young farmers have significant concern surrounding this new CAP and how it can adequately support the future of young farmers," she said.
"Unfortunately CAP post-2027 has been completely changed, with the budget eroded and the implementation uncertain."
O'Neill said one of the biggest concerns for the agricultural sector is currently the lack of young farmers entering, with just 4.3% of farmers under the age of 35.
"Despite lobbying on this topic for decades, it's only now that we’ve hit crisis point that the issue is gaining political traction," she added.
