Budget 2023 offers “little for Ireland’s family farmers”, Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture, Matt Carthy has said.

Carthy believes the government has “completely failed” farmers in Budget 2023 and told Agriland that many farming families are disappointed that the government has not acknowledged the scale of challenges that they face.

Budget 2023

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) was allocated €2.14 billion in Budget 2023 which the government said represents an increase of €283 million on the 2022 budget.

The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, told the Dáil yesterday (Tuesday, September 27) that the government was aware of the “challenges farming communities face as they deal with rising input costs while moving towards a sustainable future”.

But Carthy said Sinn Féin believes that Budget 2023 will not provide “sufficient funding” for those farmers that need it most.

Matt Carthy stated:

“Behind all repackaged announcements in the government’s budget pack – the fact is that just €11 million of additional resources have been allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.”

He said Sinn Féin had produced an alternative budget which, Carthy said, included specific proposals designed to target support to farmers where and when they needed it.

Farm Assist

Carthy told Agriland that the government had wasted an opportunity in Budget 2023 to specifically address issues with Farm Assist – a means-tested payment for low-income farmers.

The means test takes into account most forms of income and this is assessed in different ways and disregarding various amounts.

Farm income and income from off-farm self-employment is assessed at 70%.

If a farmer receives payments e.g. agri-environmental scheme payments, property payments, or employment payments, different rules apply.

Sinn Féin had proposed, in its alternative budget, changes to the farm income disregard to ensure more farming families could benefit from the payment.

It also set out proposals in the document for a suckler farm payment of up to €300 per cow/calf pair and an increased sheep improvement scheme of €20/ewe.

Sinn Féin had also suggested an additional €25 million for farms on areas of natural constraint (ANC) and €15 million of additional funding for organics. 

Farming families facing multiple challenges

The Sinn Féin spokesperson on agriculture and TD for Cavan-Monaghan said overall, that Budget 2023 does not provide sufficiently in key areas.

“This is a budget that will mean little for our family farmers. At a time when farmers are facing multiple challenges from Brexit, rising input costs and climate obligations – this is a clearly a government that fails to recognise the scale of those challenges,” Carthy concluded.