The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has said that it "beggars belief" that some farmers will potentially be charged, from 2024, for the "privilege of farming privately owned land" which they have done for years, or possibly even generations.

President of the IFA, Tim Cullinan said: “Farmers shouldn’t be penalised by imposing a Residential Zoned Land Tax [RZLT] on them, simply due to the location of the land they are farming.

"Thousands of farmers have land being encroached upon by towns and villages around the country that may be zoned both residential and serviced, purely by virtue of being close to a town, rather than by any intent on the part of the farmer,” he added.

The RZLT was introduced by the Finance Act 2021 and will come into effect from 2024, managed by the Revenue Commissioners.

According to the government, the tax and the associated guidelines are part of a suite of integrated measures and policy direction within the 'Housing for All' policy to:

However, the IFA has said that farmers need to be consulted prior to the rezoning of any area for residential development.

"Land cannot be rezoned in county development plans without the prior knowledge of landowners, which is happening at the moment," Cullinan said.

IFA National Farm Business Committee chair, Rose Mary McDonagh said: “IFA fully appreciates the difficulties that the shortage of housing is causing. However, we strongly oppose the inclusion of farmland under the Residential Zoned Land Tax.

"It is one of the key priorities in our Budget 2023 submission, and we will be engaging with politicians in the weeks ahead to highlight our case and get this issue resolved," McDonagh added.

However, the government has said that by encouraging the development of appropriately zoned and serviced land, the measure will: