1,254 applications received for 'Forgotten Farmers' scheme
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has received 1,254 applications under the scheme for so-called 'Forgotten Farmers'.
The measure, officially called the Scheme to Support Long Established Young Farmers, launched on July 22 and closed to applications yesterday (Wednesday, August 13).
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was allocated €5 million in Budget 2025 to provide support to this group. Applicants can avail of a payment of up to €5,000 (depending on application numbers).
The resulting application numbers mean that, with an overall budget of €5 million, the average pay out to farmers is likely to be just shy of €4,000.
Online applications could be submitted until 5:30p.m yesterday.
In figures provided to Agriland, the department confirmed that a total of 1,254 farmers had applied to the scheme.
The highest number of applications were submitted from counties Cork (176), Galway (91) and Donegal (80).
The fewest applications, meanwhile, came from counties Louth (three), Dublin (five) and Kildare (eight). These were the only three counties where the application figures were in single digits.
The county-by-county breakdown of applications is outlined in the following table:
| County | No. of applications |
|---|---|
| Carlow | 33 |
| Cavan | 53 |
| Clare | 59 |
| Cork | 176 |
| Donegal | 80 |
| Dublin | 5 |
| Galway | 91 |
| Kerry | 68 |
| Kildare | 8 |
| Kilkenny | 42 |
| Laois | 32 |
| Leitrim | 41 |
| Limerick | 57 |
| Longford | 34 |
| Louth | 3 |
| Mayo | 75 |
| Meath | 32 |
| Monaghan | 50 |
| Offaly | 38 |
| Roscommon | 40 |
| Sligo | 34 |
| Tipperary | 70 |
| Waterford | 25 |
| Westmeath | 39 |
| Wexford | 52 |
| Wicklow | 17 |
| Total | 1,254 |
The Long Established Young Farmers, or 'Forgotten Farmers', is a group defined as young farmers who were under the age of 40 in 2015, had commenced in agriculture prior to 2008, did not receive young farmer installation aid, and were not eligible for young farmer supports under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2015 due to the date they had first set up in agriculture.
The scheme, despite being broadly welcomed, did come in for some criticism due to some of the criteria and the short timeframe between its launch and application deadline.
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) had called for a more "ambitious" Long-Established Young Farmers scheme with an extension to the timeframe within which farmers could apply.
IFA rural development chairperson John Curran said: “After years in the making and countless political promises to finally support ‘Forgotten Farmers’, we’ve a scheme on the table that falls far short of expectations and will again exclude many farmers from necessary support."
