Relevant Matter
Matters involving public funds
Public Policy Area
Agriculture
Period
1 May. 2026 to 31 Aug. 2026
Specific Details
IFA Pre-Budget 2027 Meeting with Minister for Agriculture
Intended results
To discuss the IFA Pre-Budget 2027 Submission with the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine.
To highlight that the three main pillars of the IFA submission are
- The retention and expansion of farm schemes
- Supports to mitigate the inflationary costs of production
- Retention of the tax reliefs that underpin the sector
To highlight that, with reduced margins expected across most farm sectors this year, there is a fundamental importance of ANC and other national schemes to farm income.
To reinforce that linear cuts to national schemes, like what happened last year to the sheep and livestock schemes, will not be tolerated by farmers. New applicants need to be budgeted for, not funded from existing scheme participants. Anybody who applies and complies with the terms and conditions should not find themselves out of pocket at a later date.
That, with a lot of focus around the Straw Incorporation Measure, it's positive that all eligible farmers have been accepted into the scheme, but this needs to be matched by additional funding to meet the demand in full.
To highlight that it's difficult for farmers to know whether it's best to incorporate straw and avail of SIM, or to bale the straw and get prevailing market prices without SIM support – because they can't do both.
To stress the need for more medium and long term supports to preserve and grow the sector was also emphasised,
To acknowledge that the initial Fuel Support Scheme payments are making their way to farmers and contractors from this week. The scheme was designed and implemented promptly and was relatively simple to apply for
To emphasise that It's imperative now that any surplus or unallocated funds from the scheme are retained within Agriculture, with the appropriate balance struck between retaining funds for potentially another round of fuel supports given ongoing market volatilities, and the immediate or short-term funding around the Fertiliser Support Scheme (where maximum 200% co-financing is required on top of €15.4m secured from Europe)
and Nutrient Storage investments within TAMS – each aligned with the broader parameter of building resilience and mitigating the costs of production.
To highlight other key priorities
- A permanent RZLT exemption for active farmers;
- A continuation of key taxation supports; and the need to address current discrepancies between the livestock VAT rate and Flat Rate Addition VAT rate which is costing farmers on the sale of livestock.
- To increase inheritance thresholds and make greater use of accelerated capital allowance (to include investments that improve on-farm efficiency, animal health/welfare) as a potential means of supporting necessary investment and mitigating inflationary cost pressures.
Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity
Francie Gorman IF President, Damian McDonald IFA Director General, Tadhg Buckley IFA Director of Policy & Chief Economist, Bill O'Keeffe IFA Farm Business Chair, John Curran IFA Rural Development Chair
Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?)
No
Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign?
No
Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client?
No
Lobbying activity
The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.
Informal communication (2-5)
Designated public officials lobbied
The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them.
As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.
Barry Cassidy
Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Brian Purcell
Adviser to Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Martin Heydon
Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Sinead McPhillips
Secretary General (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)