Government boost agriculture spending by €158m to in Budget 2025

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform of Ireland Paschal Donohoe announced that over €2bn was allocated for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for 2025.

The Budget, he said, will also provide funding for a range of supports across sectors, including:

• €30m for a new tillage scheme supporting farmers to plant their field crops. This the €100/ha was announced by Minister McConalogue in April at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis and will support a payment on c300,000ha.
• €10m for animal health measures improving biosecurity €22m for the continuation of the National Sheep Welfare Scheme into 2025. Payments under the various sheep schemes, will bring the total to €25/ewe, up from the current €20/ewe payment. This will be worth €500 to a farmer with 100 ewes.
• €8m to enhance payment rates on the National Beef Welfare Scheme. The Beef Welfare Scheme will be increased from €50/calf to €75/calf for the first 40 calves. This will be worth €1,000 to a farmer with 40 eligible calves.
• €143m of Carbon Tax funding will be provided to the Department next year, to support farmers as they work to improve biodiversity, climate, air and water quality outcomes.

Reliefs

The Minister for Finance Jack Chambers confirmed the extension of the following reliefs to the end of 2027; General Stock Relief, Stock Relief for Young Trained Farmers and Stock Relief for Registered Farm Partnerships. “I am also broadening the scope of accelerated capital allowances for farm safety equipment by adding further qualifying farm safety equipment types that can benefit from the relief.”

​Tax

Children can now inherit up to €400,000 from their parents tax free. Grandchildren will be able to inherit €40,000 tax free, and the threshold for siblings will be €20,000.

Agricultural Stamp Duty reliefs

The Finance Minister also announced he is amending both the Young Trained Farmer Stamp Duty Relief and the Stamp Duty relief which applies to farmers who lease land. The relief for Young Trained Farmers will be revised so that it will be available where it is claimed by an individual farmer who carries on the farm business through a company. The leasing relief will be amended to also encompass farmers who have chosen to incorporate their business.

Agricultural Relief

In an attempt to address concerns around the use of Agricultural Relief being used as part of tax planning strategies by wealthy individuals, Minister Chambers announced he is extending the six-year active farmer test to the person who provides the gift or inheritance.

It comes amid growing discontent in many areas that farmers are being priced out of land by those with substantial financial interests outside the sector.

Farmers flat rate compensation

The flat-rate scheme for VAT on farming inputs will be, based on macro-economic data received from the CSO and the Revenue Commissioners for the period 2022-2024, increased from the current 4.8% to 5.1% from 1 January 2025.

Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT)

Farmers impacted by the Residential Zoned Land Tax can seek to have their land rezoned to reflect the activity they carry out on their land. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage will issue guidelines to local authorities indicating that they should consider and accommodate rezoning requests where landowners seek to continue undertaking existing economic activity.

Forgotten Farmers

Some €5m has been allocated to the so-called ‘forgotten farmers’ – around 4,000 farmers who missed out on Young Farmer Scheme payments.

Income stability

The Minister also committed to advancing an income volatility measure ahead of next year’s Budget. This, he said, requires detailed consideration of complex issues of policy around how this would operate in the context of financial regulation, governance and legal structures and that his officials will work with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in progressing proposals for consideration.