Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has today (Wednesday, August 9) announced the launch of a new scheme to encourage farm succession.
The Succession Planning Advice Grant (SPAG) will provide a maximum payment of €1,500 to help farmers aged 60 years and above to seek succession planning advice.
The payment will cover up to half of vouched legal, accounting, and advisory costs.
The minister said that the scheme also aims to encourage best practice in intergenerational land transfer to address, among other things, significant generational imbalances within farming.
Succession
The grant will be open to farmers aged 60 years and above who are currently not in a succession farm partnership.
They must be farming a minimum of 3ha of land for at least two years prior to making their application.
The scheme will open from September 19, 2023, and paper application forms will be available at the National Ploughing Championships and from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) website.
Applications will be open until the end of 2023, with the first tranche payment being made in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
An online information webinar for the new scheme is scheduled for the September 6, 2023 at 7:00p.m.
Commenting on the new scheme, Minister Charlie McConalogue said:
“While not unique to Ireland, I recognise that there are considerable demographic challenges in the agricultural sector and am therefore very pleased to announce this new support initiative under Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan.
“This scheme will help older farmers to plan for their future and the future of their farms, by providing financial support towards the costs of legal and financial advice for succession planning.
“It is very important to be able to assist farmers in making what can be very difficult but ultimately very important decisions about the future of their farming enterprise.
“This scheme will be an important addition to the range of supports for generational renewal already in place, including significant agri-taxation supports; and strong supports for young farmers and collaborative farming under the CAP Strategic Plan,” he said.