The Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) have expressed major disappointment on the budget details outlined by Ministers Donohoe and McGrath.

Commenting on the budget National President Vincent Roddy stated “how farmers will rightly question the Government’s commitment to a just transition on climate change and biodiversity loss when assessed against commitments made across other sectors.”

In the budget Minister McGrath detailed an increase in core spending of €4.2billion for the coming year with both Ministers emphasising the major challenge posed by Climate Change and Biodiversity loss and outlined a budget increase of €858m to address this.

Of this €858m increase there is stated Roddy “a commitment of an additional €152m for a just transition but is seems that none of this will go towards farming even though a lot of the heavy lifting will be left on the shoulders of farmers.”
There is he continued “already a compelling case for a just transition to be made for the many farmers operating under the burden of land designations (SAC & SPA). These designations have been assessed at EU level to cost these farmers €150/ha/year in terms of lost productivity and increased regulation.”

This stated the INHFA President “was a major factor in our budget proposals where we outlined the need for an annual budget of €120m to ensure a just transition for these farmers. The fact that this continues to be ignored isn’t just an issue for the farmers concerned but should stand as a warning to all farmers as we face increasing demands in meeting national obligations on climate change and biodiversity loss.”

On other budget related issues Roddy welcomed the continuation of stamp duty and stock relief for young farmers but expressed concern with the decision to reduce the flat rate farmers vat from 5.6% to 5.5% a decision that will cost farmers €5.8m.
With regard to the roll-over of all current schemes the INHFA leader stated that “while expected, he had hoped that additional supports would have been put in place for our suckler and sheep sectors.”

In concluding he reiterated his disappointment that such a high spending budget couldn’t deliver anything new or significant to our farming communities.

Vincent Roddy was elected as the new president of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association this week and Agriland spoke to him about his priorities for the association with regard to CAP, sucklers and Budget22.

See the full video of the interview by clicking this link

Vincent Roddy was elected as the new president of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association this week and Agriland spoke to him about his priorities for the association with regard to CAP, sucklers and Budget22.

See the full video of the interview by clicking this link

Vincent Roddy a native of Ballaghaderreen Co Roscommon is the new President of the Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association (INHFA). His election was ratified at the organisations National AGM which was held in Jacksons Hotel, Ballybofey, Co Donegal last Thursday.

Roddy will lead a new team consisting of two new Vice Presidents in Pheilim Molloy from Donegal and Micheal McDonnell from Mayo and will also be joined by Sharon Cosgrove (Mayo) as National Secretary and Hugh Gallagher (Sligo) as National Treasurer.

In his first address as National President Roddy focused heavily on the current CAP reform, Climate Change and ongoing issues confronting farmers with Land Designations.

With regard to CAP the new President reiterated the organisations call for full flattening of Pillar 1 payments through 100% convergence and a front-loaded payment to help support small holders. This he stated “recognises how these policies will not alone deliver in terms of equal payment for the same conditions but will also provide the best means of protecting the greatest number of farmers.”

On Pillar 2 payments he called for an annual budget increase of at least €250m to deliver an overall budget of at least €850m. This he maintained is the minimum needed to deliver the required support for our suckler and sheep sectors while also providing an adequate budget to facilitate and support all farmers looking to join the new Agri-environmental scheme.

When discussing climate change and specifically proposals made by the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) to reduce the suckler herd due to its lack of profitability. He queried their suitability in pointing the finger of blame at our suckler cows adding that their role should be “to assess emissions and their impact based on science and not whether the sector was profitable or not.”

The Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) have called on the Government to ensure that all farmers are catered for in this year’s budget citing lack of access to critical schemes as a major issue for many of our members.

In discussing this year’s budget proposals INHFA President Colm O’Donnell stated “how our proposals can deliver for almost 100,000 farmers through short and medium term interventions for our suckler and sheep sectors.”
Key Points of the INHFA’s budget proposals include the following points..

 Suckler beef sector. Last Autumn funding of €6m over 3 years was made available to help develop markets for naturally reared suckler beef. Progress has been made on this and there is potential to expand it which is why the organisation are now seeking additional funding of a further €6m. On direct support they are looking for an additional €60m for the BEEP-S Programme in 2022 to deliver an overall budget of €100m in 2022. This is in addition to the BDGP which the Government committed to rolling over for two years in last year’s budget.

 Sheep sector. Here they are calling for the doubling of the budget for the Sheep Welfare Scheme. This with an updated reference year can deliver a payment of €20 on each ewe. In relation to developing an Irish Woolen Industry they have outlined details relating to R&D funding with a budget request of €3m.

 Agri-environmental schemes. With GLAS being rolled over for the coming year the INHFA have requested that up to €100m be made available for a one year Agri-environmental scheme to accommodate the many farmers currently frozen out of GLAS and the new REAP.

 Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) There is a call here for an increased budget allocation of €25m to deliver a total budget of €275m. This will see increased payments for all qualifying farmers and deliver a maximum payment of €5,000.

 Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss are two issues that will dominate for the foreseeable future as new proposals to address this could see an increase in the area of land designated. Currently farmers with these designations have shouldered an unfair burden which must be addressed. At EU level the cost of this burden is assessed at €150/ha/year and if the State is serious about a just transition they should provide a budget of €120m/year to pay farmers/landowners affected.

 Forestry. On this the INHFA are seeking a dramatic change in policy that will end state funding for multi-nationals and pension funds. This can be done by ensuring afforestation scheme funds are instead only used to encourage genuine farmers to plant a portion of their holdings with commercial broadleaf or native woodlands. A policy change such as this would need to ensure it is attractive to all farmers. In doing so all farmers can make a positive contribution to biodiversity and climate change.

The INHFA leader concluded by outlining how the organisation have also made proposals around tax reform where they have prioritized measures around farm safety. In addition to this we have, he stated “sought changes to the Farm Assist Scheme and proposed increasing the number of places in the Rural Social Scheme and ending the six year cap on participation.”

The full budget submission can be viewed by clicking the link below...

INHFA_Budget_Submission_2022.pdf