The allocation for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Budget 2024 is “a long way short of what is required”, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The department’s allocation in this year’s budget is just over €1.9 billion, compared to the €2.14 billion allocated in last year’s budget (Budget 2024).
Reacting to the budget announcement, IFA president Tim Cullinan expressed disappointment with the funding for the department, saying it wasn’t adequate to address the financial challenges in several sectors.
“It is a long way short of what is required to bolster a sector which is struggling with high input costs, lower commodity prices, and unfavourable weather for many sectors.
“Farmers will see little or no ambition in this budget and will be frustrated to see the farming budget reduced while other department’s budgets have been increased,” Cullinan said.
Delivering the budget today, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said that €14 billion will be put aside for an infrastructure, climate and nature fund. According to Cullinan, the available details on this fund are limited.
“Farmers will be concerned about what will be required of them to access any of this fund. Ultimately, farmers want to farm and have a viable enterprise that they can pass onto the next generation,” the IFA president said.
He also pointed to the fact that farmers are yet to receive payments under a number of schemes announced in last year’s budget.
Cullinan added: “The department could have used the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) to offset the impact of Brexit on our sector, yet this wasn’t done.
“Those farmers who are facing the consequences of trade deals will be very disappointed. It looks like this funding will be going back to Brussels, which is a huge political failure,” he said.
On more positive aspects of the budget, Cullinan said a payment of €20/ewe for sheep farmers – which, it is understood, will be confirmed by the Department of Agriculture as part of its allocation – is an important step and recognises the difficulties sheep farmers are facing.
However, he added that €30/ewe is needed in order to ensure a sustainable sheep sector.
On the tillage sector, Cullinan said that very significant challenges remain, despite recently announced funding for the sector.
He also called for clarity on further funding for suckler farmers, which, he said, “seems to be less than what was allocated last year”.
He welcomed the retention of farm-related tax reliefs, as well as changes to income tax relief related to land leasing, so that the relief only applies when the land had been owned for seven years.
However, Cullinan expressed concern that the land leasing relief change could potentially have unintended consequences in relation to inheritance, saying that detail around the change “will be very important”.
The IFA president criticised the move to reduce the flat rate VAT compensation to farmers from 5% to 4.8%, saying it will negatively impact incomes; but he welcomed the deferral of the liability period for the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT).
However, Cullinan said: “The next 12 months has to see serious engagement to remove genuine farmers from this penal tax.”