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Agriland
6 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Budget 2026: What farm scheme changes is the IFA looking for?
The Irish Farmer's Association (IFA) has revealed its submission for Budget 2026, outlining a list of demands for this year's national budget. The submission says that despite consistently delivering food ingredients globally, most farmers struggle to obtain positive market returns. The farm organisation said this is a "derivative of stubbornly high costs of production, increased regulation, and farmers failing to secure their fair share of the value chain". The submission calls for all elected representatives, both here and in Brussels, to work collectively to deliver a "strong, dedicated and enhanced" Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), in its traditional two-pillar format. The IFA Budget 2026 document calls on the government to resist European Commission attempts to "put a knife through the heart of the CAP". It calls for the complexity and bureaucracy surrounding existing farm payments to be reviewed and simplified, with maximum possible allocations to active farmers. It also calls for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to maximise all available flexibilities about the design and implementation of the CAP Strategic Plan afforded via the recent CAP simplification package launched in May. The IFA is proposing targeted sectoral supports of €300/cow for sucklers; €30/ewe; €250/ha for a 'tillage survival scheme'; a €100/calf dairy breed calf rearing payment; and a €100/head payment for beef sustainability (on dairy and suckling yearlings). In terms of particular schemes, the IFA is calling for the budget and allocation to the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme to be increased by €50 million to €300 million, and for the eligible area for the scheme to be increased from 34ha to 45ha. On the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), the IFA is calling for increasing investment ceilings for on-farm investments, and for costings to be indexed and/or updated annually to reflect market conditions. Other demands the IFA outlined on TAMS include: Increased resources to swiftly resolve backlog in application approvals and payments; Removal of cow number restrictions in the Dairy Equipment Scheme; Additional items, including grant aid for dribble bars, rubber mats, ATV/UTVs and quad gates; Increased TAMS grant aid of 70% from a ringfenced national fund for slurry storage investment to be made available to all farmers regardless of their Nitrate status and/or current levels of on-farm slurry storage; All farm safety, nutrient management, animal welfare and water quality investment items are to be prioritised; A clear and simplified activity demonstration process for young farmers and women farmers; Significant upward revision for pig farm investments; Solar panel funding should be removed and provided independently of the TAMS programme, with both solar panel and on-farm anaerobic digestion funding having their own dedicated schemes. On the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), the IFA is calling for a "full and urgent review" of the scheme and its implementation. The submission said that there has been a "general lack of faith", and disappointment in ACRES among farmers. The farm organisation is calling for a "fully revamped" agri-environment scheme that provides farmers with a payment of €15,000/year.
Agriland
6 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Fewer farmers in receipt of Farm Assist compared to 2024
There are currently just over 3,400 recipients of Farm Assist, the Department of Social Protection has confirmed. This compares with the end-of-year 2024 figure of just over 3,600, and 4,000 in 2023. Farm Assist is a means-tested income support specifically for farmers on low incomes. The government has provided almost €47 million for the scheme in 2025. To qualify for Farm Assist, you must be a farmer in Ireland, be aged between 18 and 66, and pass a means test. In a means test, the Department of Social Protection examines all sources of income. A recipient's income must be below a certain amount. Figures from the Department of Social Protection show that in 2024, of the 3,610 Farm Assist recipients, Co. Donegal had the highest number with 804. Co. Mayo had the second highest number with 515, followed by Co. Galway with 332 and Co. Cork with 239. A spokesperson told Agriland that the department "does not maintain data on the types of farming undertaken by Farm Assist recipients". They added that any future changes to the scheme, such as payment rate, "would have to be considered in a budgetary context, within the scope of the overall resources available for welfare improvements and with consideration to other social welfare schemes". Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary was asked in recent months by Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny if there are plans to disregard farm income from environmental schemes such as ACRES for the purpose of Farm Assist applications. Under the Farm Assist means test, income from a range of agri-environmental schemes attract a disregard of €5,000, with 50% of the balance assessed as means. The amount disregarded was increased from €2,540, with effect from January 2023. "Further to a commitment in the Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, my department reviewed the means assessment disregards for Farm Assist in 2021 and the list of agri-environmental schemes that qualify for a disregard has been significantly expanded in recent years," the minister said. "ACRES was included in the disregard from April 2023. "In line with the recommendation contained in the review, I am committed to continuing to work with my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to identify any additional schemes contained in Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 that could be considered for inclusion in the list of agri-environmental schemes which attract this disregard." The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) is seeking a number of changes to the Farm Assist scheme in Budget 2026. It is proposing that recipients of Farm Assist should receive credited social insurance contributions for pension purposes. The IFA has also proposed that the capital assessment disregard threshold is raised from the current €20,000 to €50,000, and that eligibility is extended beyond pension age, particularly for those with limited or no pension entitlement. The association also said that income from farm schemes and direct payments must "accurately reflect income needs". The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) said that the current year's income should be used when assessing for the means test. "Year-to-year volatility in farming means that current incomes should be used in the Farm Assist calculations," the ICMSA said. The association said that the impact of participation in Farm Assist on pension entitlements must be addressed. "Farmers who did not pay their PRSI contributions in the years they received the aid find their pension benefits under threat," the association added.
Agriland
31-07-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Potential EU sheep milk supply gap but Ireland has 'limited' ability to fill it
EU sheep milk production is expected to decline by 8% by 2030, and with relatively stable demand for it, there is a potential supply gap emerging, according to Bord Bia. However, Ireland's ability to maximise on these opportunities is "limited by our current scale of production and export capability", Bord Bia told Agriland. Seamus McMenamin, Bord Bia sheepmeat and livestock sector manager, said that sheep milk is a "very niche product, and Ireland has little or no history in sheep milk production". It is estimated that there are 1,000 milking ewes nationally, producing 285,000 litres in Ireland. "The majority of sheep milk processed in Ireland is destined for the production of farmhouse cheese and yoghurt," McMenamin said. "Over 95% of this output is consumed domestically, with small volumes exported to the UK and continental Europe. "The Mediterranean region accounts for 14% of world sheep population, and approximately 46% of world sheep milk production." EU sheep milk production is expected to decline by 8% by 2030, Bord Bia said, mainly due to ageing farmers, climate pressures, and profitability issues in Greece, France, and Italy. Bord Bia added that it is "committed to supporting exporters seeking to explore opportunities in export markets that may arise". The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) told Agriland it isn't "directly funding sheep milk production research". However, it has or is currently funding sheep production research across other areas, "including genetics, nutrition, wool, general management under grazing conditions, various health and welfare aspects, and environmental issues", a DAFM spokesperson said. "DAFM supports research and innovation to enable the agri-food and forest sector deliver greater efficiency, sustainability and the development of a strong bioeconomy," the spokesperson said. "It has a variety of funding instruments with which to do this and these are aligned with important policy, legislative and other issues, challenges and trends facing the sector. "The department's research funding is focused on public-good research which reflects the priorities outlined in key documents such as the programme for government, Food Vision 2030, the department's Statement of Strategy, and other high-level national and EU policies. "The scientific specification of the calls reflects these documents." Funding is awarded through competitive open calls for proposals, and only eligible public research performing organisations can receive such funding. DAFM said that the Irish sheep industry is predominantly focused on meat production, with only a "very small percentage" of milking sheep, which are mainly focused on local sheep milk cheese production. "While there are no schemes directly aimed at supporting sheep milk producers, there are a range of schemes which they can avail of under the CAP Strategic Plan including the ACRES and organics schemes," the spokesperson said. "The department provides significant support to the sheep sector under the EU co-funded Sheep Improvement Scheme and through the exchequer-funded 2025 National Sheep Welfare Scheme." In addition, under TAMS, sheep farmers can apply for capital investment grants for sheep fencing and specific housing investments, sheep handling equipment, EID tag readers and lambing cameras for sheep. "Sheep milk farmers can also apply for capital investment grants for milking machines, water heaters, bulk milk tanks and other dairy investments," DAFM said. "The department has also recently developed a framework approval process for the recognition of producer organisations in both the sheep and dairy sectors. There is associated funding available under the Early Stage Support for Producer Organisations Scheme."
Irish Independent
16-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
EU proposes major cut to farm subsidies
Under the new proposal, CAP funding would fall to €300 billion for the next seven-year period, compared to €387 billion allocated for 2021–2027. When adjusted to real prices, this amounts to an estimated 30% reduction in funding. The CAP will also no longer be a standalone fund. Instead, it will be merged into a single mega-fund alongside cohesion and rural development spending, to be managed at the national level through new National and Regional Partnership Plans. It comes as a draft proposal on the next CAP leaked in recent days also outlines a controversial shake-up of how direct farm payments are distributed, including new caps on large payouts. Under the Commission's blueprint, income support would be capped at €100,000 per year per farmer. Tiered reductions would apply to larger recipients: payments above €20,000 would face a 25% cut, those above €50,000 a 50% cut, and anything over €75,000 would be cut by 75%. The goal is to reallocate support towards smaller farms. Previous efforts to impose caps on farm subsidies have been blocked by member states concerned about their larger farming operations. The proposals are likely to spark resistance from Europe's powerful farming lobby. The influential COPA-COGECA group, of which the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) is a member, has strongly opposed the merging of CAP's two-pillar structure and warned against the redistribution of direct payments. Ireland, a net contributor to the EU budget since 2013, receives the bulk of its EU receipts through CAP. Under the current CAP Strategic Plan (2023–2027), Ireland receives nearly €2 billion annually to support its farming and agri-food sectors. Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon recently warned of the economic risks posed by CAP cuts. 'As a country that is now a net contributor to the overall EU budget, there are many things we pay into that we don't get a direct return from,' he said. 'Of the receipts the Exchequer gets back from what we pay into Europe, 75pc comes through the CAP. If CAP is reduced, that hits the overall economy in terms of how much of that return we see.' In 2023, Ireland contributed €3.6 billion to the EU budget. That figure is forecast to rise to almost €4.5 billion by 2027. However, speaking today Minister Heydon said today's publication is just the beginning of a 'protracted process'. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more "Member States will, through the Council of Ministers, begin the process of agreeing a general approach to the Commission's proposals, before engaging in line by line negotiations with the EU Parliament and the EU Commission. "This will take some time, and I fully expect the progression of these proposals to be a significant feature of Ireland's Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of next year.' Broader overhaul of EU spending The CAP reform is part of a wider redesign of the EU's long-term budget. The Commission today unveiled a draft Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034 worth nearly €2 trillion — equivalent to 1.26% of the EU's gross national income. President Ursula von der Leyen said the revamped budget would help the EU 'shape its own destiny' in an era of global uncertainty. 'Our new long-term budget will help protect European citizens, strengthen Europe's social model and make our European industry thrive,' she said. 'In a time of geopolitical instability, the budget will allow Europe to shape its own destiny, in line with its vision and ideals.' The Commission stressed that new demands on the EU budget — including defence, migration, energy resilience and industrial competitiveness — require a fundamental overhaul. 'Europe faces an increasing number of challenges... These are not temporary but reflect systemic geopolitical and economic shifts,' the Commission said. One pressing concern is the EU's mounting debt, with repayments of €25–30 billion per year due to begin in 2028. To fund new priorities and ease the burden on national budgets, the Commission proposed five new 'own resources,' including levies on emissions, e-waste, tobacco, and large corporate revenues. Combined, these are expected to raise €58.5 billion per year. Next steps The Commission's draft budget must be agreed unanimously by member states, following approval from the European Parliament. Several proposals, including new revenue streams, require ratification by national parliaments.
Irish Independent
27-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
One in three Wicklow farmers still waiting on ACRES payments
ACRES is Ireland's agri-environment climate scheme under Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan. This €1.5 billion flagship agri-environment scheme is a farmer-friendly scheme to help address biodiversity decline while delivering an income support for farm families in Ireland. Deputy Whitmore, the Social Democrats spokesperson on agriculture, said: 'According to the latest figures, 62 farmers in Wicklow have yet to receive their advance payment, and 191 are still waiting on any payments. That's nearly one in three participants left in limbo. 'These payments are vital for farmers who are actively working to improve biodiversity and environmental outcomes on their land. Many have already invested time and money into these measures, and the department's failure to deliver payments on time is completely unacceptable. 'Farmers need certainty. If the government wants to encourage participation in schemes like ACRES, it must ensure that payments are made promptly and fairly. Delays like this undermine trust and place unnecessary financial pressure on farming families. I am calling on the Minister for Agriculture to urgently address the backlog and ensure that all outstanding payments are processed without further delay.' At a meeting of the Select Committee on Agriculture and Food held last week, Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon acknowledged the significant payment delays experienced with ACRES. More than €500 million has been paid out to Irish farmers since 2023 through ACRES, but a 'dark cloud hangs over it because not every farmer was paid', the minister said, though he expected 'considerable progress' to take place over coming weeks to drive the number of outstanding payments down further.
