€32.4m to begin issuing in tillage and horticulture payments

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has today (Wednesday, February 12) confirmed payments totalling €32.4 million have commenced issuing to farmers under the Tillage and Horticulture Support scheme.

The payment of €100/ha will be made on eligible tillage and horticulture crops that were declared on farmers’ 2024 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) applications.

The minister said that these payments will be visible in farmers’ bank accounts in the coming days.

Damaged barley near Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Source: John Murphy
Damaged barley near Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Source: John Murphy

Commenting on the payments, Minister Heydon said: “Last spring, government recognised the difficult position tillage and horticultural farmers found themselves in due to exceptionally poor weather and continued high input costs.

"The tillage and horticultural sectors are exceptionally important to the Irish agri-food sector, and we wanted to ensure that supports were in place to assist farmers.

"As part of Budget 2025, funding was secured to deliver on the Government’s commitment for a €100 per hectare payment to support tillage and horticulture growers who planted crops for the 2024 harvest," he said.

Minister Heydon added that "the tillage sector is an integral part of the agri-food industry" and that he is "committed to stabilising and increasing the tillage area over the coming years".

"The Food Vision Tillage Group sets out a roadmap for growing the sector and a recent meeting of the group focused on the work that is ongoing to progress its actions," he said.

Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry, Horticulture and Farm Safety, Michael Healy-Rae added:

“The National Horticulture Strategy requires a strong and solid foundation from which to grow the horticulture industry.

"This financial support package is critical in ensuring the ongoing economic viability of the sector and ensuring its future survival."

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said that 10,868 herds are eligible for the tillage and horticulture payments, based on 2024 BISS applications.

The county-by-county breakdown is as follows:

CountyTotal eligible herdsTotal payment
Carlow560€1,820,661
Cavan30€45,593
Clare18€15,980
Cork 1,854€4,493,480
Donegal290€1,518,292
Galway312€369,825
Kerry160€278,154
Kildare567€2,820,153
Kilkenny699€1,706,869
Laois698€1,667,921
Leitrim3€2,470
Limerick77€148,178
Longford28€42,110
Louth484€2,086,384
Mayo43€26,918
Meath658€3,266,391
Monaghan63€65,625
Offaly510€984,602
Roscommon53€68,742
Sligo22€11,297
Tipperary808€2,446,310
Waterford336€811,185
Westmeath230€621,373
Wexford1,736€5,369,718
Wicklow 405€1,145,335
Total10868€32,382,638
Source: DAFM

The department noted that aid will not be payable on protein crops funded under the Protein Aid Scheme.

The aid is available to all growers of the eligible crops listed below:

  • Arable Silage
  • Artichoke
  • Asparagus
  • Baby Leaf Spinach
  • Barley - Spring
  • Barley - Winter
  • Beetroot
  • Borage
  • Broccoli - Spring
  • Broccoli - Winter
  • Brussel sprouts
  • Cabbage - Spring
  • Cabbage - Winter
  • Calabrese
  • Camelina
  • Carrots
  • Cauliflowers - Spring
  • Cauliflowers - Winter
  • Celeriac
  • Celery - Spring
  • Celery - Winter
  • Courgettes
  • Fodder Beet
  • Garlic
  • Leeks - Spring
  • Leeks - Winter
  • Lettuce
  • Maize
  • Marrows
  • Mixed Cropping (Horticulture)
  • Oats - Spring
  • Oats - Winter
  • Oilseed Rape - Spring
  • Oilseed Rape - Winter
  • Onions
  • Pak Choi
  • Parsnips
  • Perpetual Spinach
  • Potatoes - Early
  • Potatoes - Maincrop
  • Potatoes - Seed
  • Pumpkins
  • Radish
  • Rhubarb
  • Rocket
  • Rye
  • Scallions
  • Shallot
  • Squash
  • Sugar Beet
  • Swede
  • Sweetcorn
  • Triticale - Spring
  • Triticale - Winter
  • Turnips
  • Wheat - Spring
  • Wheat - Winter

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The payment measure for the tillage sector was first announced by then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis in April 2024.

Against the backdrop of poor weather conditions, the minister said that he wanted to "help tillage farmers have the confidence to plant in 2024".

At the time, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman said that the tillage payment was “a long way short of what is required".

The farm organisation had made a submission to the minister "setting out a strong case for €250/ha".

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