Young farmer organisation, Macra has said that it is extremely disappointed with the lack of support in Budget 2025 for young farmers,.
The farm organisation said that this afternoon saw the last budget being announced by the current government, and that it “was flagged in advance of a budget, the likes of which had not been seen since Charlie McCreevy’s largesse during the Celtic Tiger years”.
The discretionary spending went from €1.5 billion last Friday to €2 billion on budget day, according to Macra, which has suggested that it should have included something for everyone.
Macra president, Elaine Houlihan said: “To say that our members are disappointed is an understatement.
“With so much money washing around government coffers, we had hoped that for once the right course of action would be followed in relation to young farmers and farming succession; we were foolish to think that.”
There were, however, some aspects of the budget which have been welcomed by Macra.
On agricultural taxation, the renewal of stock relief for young farmers and partnerships up to 2027; the expansion of the accelerated capital allowance to include certain safety equipment; and the expansion of stamp duty relief to include young farmers in company structures is acknowledged as positive by the farm organisation.
Houlihan continued: “Macra had called for these measures in our pre-budget proposals as taxation remains one of the important policy levers to support young farmers and rural youth and government needs to be ambitious in using it to support young farmers.
“These along with an increase to the capital acquisition tax thresholds and extension of the help-to-buy scheme are positive for rural youth.
“In reality this budget provides sops to our agricultural industry. Our members are tired of the platitudes and a lack of structural change.
“Clearly, no government party sees any future for rural Ireland except as a commuter belt for Dublin, Cork or Limerick,” she added.
Macra said that it has sought a “seismic shift” in how farmers do business, how the industry is rejuvenated.
“When Ireland was at its poorest, we were the most ambitious country in the world, look at Ardnacrusha, look at free education, look at thousands of local authority houses that were built, but now when we are awash with funds, our government looks to once-off handouts; rural youth are not for sale,” Houlihan continued.
“Macra did not look for much; we want to see a future for farming in rural Ireland. We share this modest ambition with the other farming organisations; it’s a pity that such a sentiment is not present in the halls of Leinster house.”