The Government has announced €10bn in subsidies and rural support between 2023-27 with a new cap of €66,000 on individual payments.
Funds from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the national Exchequer have been announced to help Irish farmers meet new climate action targets.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the €2.3bn investment of national funding in rural development showed the Government’s support for farmers, rural areas and to the rural economy.
“It is an enormous vote of confidence in the sector’s ability to meet the considerable challenges it faces, and to secure an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future, for farming families and for society more widely,” he said.
Agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue said individual direct payments between €60,000 and €100,000 would be reduced by 85 per cent, giving an effective cap of €66,000.
From 2023, farmers with direct payments above the national average will be reduced, so that all farmers’ payment values reach a minimum level of 85 per cent of the national average value by 2026.
Mr McConalogue described the funding package as a real commitment to farm families and said it will support our farmers to produce ‘top-class, world-famous food’ while helping them make an impact in meeting our climate ambitions.
LSL News.