Watch: Tánaiste tells farmers to 'expect their income tax to go down’ in Budget
Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris said that the government “will continue to support” farmers and promised “further measures” of support in the upcoming budget.
He made the comments while speaking to Agriland editor Stella Meehan at the National Ploughing Championship today (September 15).
The minister added that farming and the broader Irish economy are interlinked.
He said: “My job as minister for finance is to protect the Irish economy.
"The backbone of the Irish economy is indigenous industry - there is no more indigenous industry than farming."
Fuel
On the subject of fuel costs, Tánaiste Harris said: “The government can't control everything about the global energy market.”
He added that as long as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, “that's going to put pressure on global energy prices”.
The Tánaiste said: “There are things within the government's control.
"And that's what I'm looking at; the excise, how long those excise cuts land for, how long they stay in place for.”
He added that home heating oil “disproportionately impacts rural Ireland, older people, lower income families”.
Tánaiste Harris said: “We can't just live in this kind of perfect idealistic world. We also have to look at the fact that people need support in the here and now.”
He also promised to take “further measures in the budget”.
“I think it's the three F's. It's fertiliser, it's fodder and it's fuel.
“In the here and now, what can we do in fodder? What can we do in fertiliser? What can we do in fuel?”
He added that he and Minister Hayden “intend to move on all three”.
CAP
When discussing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Tánaiste Harris said that he would be meeting with European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen tomorrow (September 16) in the European Parliament.
He said: “Ireland is not alone nor is it isolated in the view that supporting farming supporting food production is a crucial part of the economic backbone of the European Union."
The Tánaiste said that Ireland’s role as president of the Council of the European Union from now to the end of its tenure “is to bring forward what they call the ‘nego’ box - the negotiating box, the next draft”.
He added: “There's a bit of work to go on this and I believe the momentum now behind recognising the importance of a ring-fenced properly funded flexible CAP is growing.
"We as a country are going to continue to work with like-minded countries in relation to that.
“We are working intensively with like-minded countries in relation to the next Common Agricultural Policy.”
Tánaiste Harris described it as “a very frustrating process”.
He added: “I can only imagine how frustrating it is for farmers, but there are twists and turns of this and quite a way to go before we actually see the final budget.”
On workers and pay
Finally, Tánaiste Harris, who is also the Minister for Finance said that he wanted the next budget to help the country’s workers, including farmers.
He said: “If you work hard in this country, you need to be able to get ahead. That includes farmers.
“So farmers, like every other worker in this country, can expect their income tax to go down in this budget.”
While he said that social protection has “an important part to play”, Harris acknowledged “people getting up early in the morning”.
He added: "And there's nobody that gets up earlier than the farmer.
“When farming does well, communities do well.
"When communities do well, Ireland does well."
Harris admitted that the country relies on foreign direct investment in this country, before saying "we've got to back Irish farming".
He added: "As I say, not as a kind of nice thing to do for the farmers, but because it is genuinely the backbone of the domestic economy and particularly the backbone of so many communities across this island."
Agriland has a packed schedule of events taking place at our tent this year, so be sure to drop by at Block 4, Row 10, Stand 184 over the next three days.
