Over €280,000 has been paid out under the first two tranches of the Succession Planning Advice Grant (SPAG).

According to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), the scheme is specifically aimed at encouraging best practice in intergenerational land transfer in order to address, among other things, significant generational imbalances in farming.

The grant aims to encourage and support farmers aged 60 years and above to seek succession planning advice by contributing up to 50% of vouched legal, accounting, and advisory costs, subject to a maximum payment of €1,500.

The initiative was introduced as part of Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

Records held by the department's Farm Partnership Unit (FPU) show that the number of applications received for tranche 1 and 2 of the Succession Planning Advice Grant was 303.

The number of eligible recipients for the grant was 231.

DAFM said that the total amount paid out under both tranches of the scheme to date was €283,738.

Tranche 3 of the Succession Planning Advice Grant is currently open for applications and will remain open until November 30, 2025.

In order to qualify for the scheme an applicant must meet the following criteria:

A farmer aged 60 years and above who is currently not in a succession partnership;
Farming at least a minimum of 3ha of land at the time of the application;
Farming for a minimum of 2 years prior to application.

The advice must be sought from an accredited professional registered with the one ormore of the following institutions:

Accountants

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA);
iCertified Public Accountants (CPA);
Chartered Accountants of Ireland (CAI);
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

Solicitors

The Law Society of Ireland (LSI).

Accredited Agricultural Advisor

Registered on the DAFM Farm Advisory System (FAS) list which can be found at gov.ie.

Chartered Tax Advisers

The Irish Tax Institute.

DAFM said that payments will be made to qualifying applications under tranche 3 in the first quarter of 2026.