The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has welcomed the new tax allowance on farm safety equipment, but called for the procedure to be "simplified".

The expanded Acceleration of Wear and Tear Allowances for Farm Safety Equipment Scheme provides accelerated capital allowances for a broader range of farm safety equipment.

Fixed sheep handling units, cattle crushes and races, calving gates, flood lights, livestock monitors, and sliding or roller doors now also qualify for accelerated capital allowances.

Chair of the ICMSA farm business committee, Pat O'Brien said that the issue of farm safety is “ever present” on farms and noted that schemes that make farms “safer for farmers, their families and visitors are to be welcomed.”

However, he said that the scheme was "overly complex" and would add "administrative burden" on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). O'Brien said that the department is "already struggling demonstrably with schemes payments".

“There is enough bureaucracy and ‘red tape’ in farming already. Surely, a process like that available for VAT reclaim could be considered or indeed integrated into the VAT reclaim process which would make it simpler for farmers and cut out unnecessary administration for the Department?," O'Brien said.

Against a background of positive output prices, O’Brien said that farmers are "more likely" to invest in safety measures in 2025 and that DAFM "should be prepared to allocate more money" to the scheme if the scheme is oversubscribed.

“Let’s us not place an arbitrary barrier on this scheme in 2025 and instead allow farmers to get on with necessary improvements.

"We don’t want a situation where some farmers find that they cannot access the scheme because of inadequate funding. That defeats the whole purpose”, he said.

The association has asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon to simplify the application process and to look at the ‘VAT reclaim’ format instead.