IFA protest ‘unfair deal' which is 'threatening viability of family farms'

IFA president Joe Healy says the government has abandoned farm families by failing to implement the three-year cap on farm assets under the financial assessment of the Fair Deal scheme.

The government has been promising this would be introduced since last July. 

Addressing farmers at the Dept of Health offices yesterday, he said it is now nearly nine months since the cabinet approved the proposal to introduce a three-year cap on farm and small businesses assets, where a family successor commits to continue to farm the asset for a period of six years. 

“Farm families are beyond frustrated with the delays,” said Mr Healy.

“When Minister Daly announced last July that he had cabinet approval to introduce a cap and that he would be progressing the matter in the Oireachtas in the autumn session, we thought we had reached the finish line.

“Unfortunately, that was not the case and we find ourselves here today.”

IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs chair Caroline Farrell said the ongoing delays are causing huge uncertainty and distress for farm families and are jeopardising the viability of the farms affected for future generations.

“In the time since cabinet approved the proposal, it has cost individual farm families an estimated €40,000 in nursing home costs,” she said. 

She said what is most upsetting is that the delays are having the greatest impact on the most vulnerable of farm families, whose farms will be unviable unless the Minister acts now. 

The IFA are calling for the changes to be introduced without any further delay and retrospectively applied to July when the cabinet approved proposal for new and existing farmers availing of the Fair Deal scheme.

They also want the three-year cap to be applied to farms that are currently leased, but where a family successor gives a verified commitment that they would continue to farm the asset for a period of six years.