A total of €2.3bn has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for 2026.
Aside from the €85m in additional funding for bovine TB eradication, there will be a €20m increase in spending on the ACRES scheme, with funding to reach €280m in 2026.
The scheme supports over 53,000 farmers in addressing biodiversity decline on their land.
Elsewhere, €20m in funding will go towards the continuation of the National Sheep Welfare Scheme, which assists over 17,000 farmers.
A total of €35m will be provided to the World Food Programme, to support people affected by emergencies, conflict and climate change internationally.
While €7.4 million in increased funding is being provided to Bord Iascaigh Mhara programmes, to support and enable a sustainable Irish seafood sector.
Funding to address worrying rise of TB on farms
The Government has announced a much-needed doubling of the budget for eradicating bovine TB on Irish farms.
Annual expenditure on the State’s bovine TB eradication programme has exceeded its budget each year since 2020, with a 76% overspend in 2024.
An additional €85m will go towards the initiative in 2026, enabling the rollout of a new Bovine TB Action Plan, announced last month.
The additional funding comes amid a worrying rise in bovine TB on farms.
Over 40,000 cases of the disease were detected in the year up to 7 September, which was an increase of more than 4,000 on the same time last year.
Since 2023 there has been a 44% jump in cases.
Last month Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said any extra funding allocated to bovine TB management would go towards tackling the disease and not to compensation schemes for farmers.
Measures to support farm succession
As part of measures to support farm succession, the Farm Consolidation (Stamp Duty) relief, Farm Restructuring (CGT) relief and the Young Trained Farmer (Stamp Duty) relief are all being extended to the end of 2029.
In addition, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said he is also expanding the scope of Farm Restructuring Relief to include woodlands and forestry.
Separately, to help farmers meet emission targets the Accelerated Capital Allowance scheme for slurry storage facilities is being extended for four more years, however, Mr Donohoe said “it is important to be aware that these measures constitute State Aid and must comply with EU State Aid rules”.
No clear commitments to support young farmers – Macra
The Government has failed to deliver any meaningful measures in the budget to support generational renewal, or farm succession, according to Macra – the organisation representing younger farmers.
Macra President Josephine O’Neill said: “For the third consecutive Budget, we have seen no clear commitment to supporting young farmers or facilitating farm succession.
“There are no new incentives, no targeted schemes, and no structured policy direction to address the single biggest challenge facing Irish agriculture today: the ageing of our farming population.
“Within a budget of €2.3 billion, it is frankly unacceptable that not a single new measure has been allocated to support generational renewal. The resources are there, but the political will is not,” it said.
The organisation stressed that “young people want to farm”.
“They want to innovate, diversify, and build sustainable businesses. But they are being met with financial barriers, bureaucratic delays, and a lack of political will. This Government is failing to recognise that without young people entering the sector, there is no future for Irish farming,” Ms O’Neill added.
However, Macra has welcomed the extension of “essential agricultural tax reliefs that Macra had sought, including the 100% Young Trained Farmer Stamp Duty Relief, Farm Restructuring Capital Gains Tax Relief and Farm Consolidation Stamp Duty Relief”.
Ms O’Neill said these measures along with accelerated capital allowance for slurry storage which are now extended up to the end of 2029 “provides certainty and stability to farm families who are trying to plan for the years ahead”.
“These measures recognise the pressures that family farms are under and the need to maintain competitiveness while facing rising costs and market volatility,” she said.
Macra has also welcomed the allocation of €85 million towards the TB eradication programme, which it described as “a longstanding and costly burden on Irish farmers”.
ICMSA welcome reliefs but criticise farm succession measures
The group representing dairy farmers, the ICMSA, has said the supports for the agriculture sector in Budget 2026 are a “disappointing non-event”.
ICMSA President Denis Drennan said the Government had promised measures to address farm succession, including tackling “uncontrollable income volatility”, but that it’s decided “it couldn’t be bothered yet again and seems quite content to wait for the crisis in attracting the next generation of farmers to become a blaring klaxon and flashing red light”.
Mr Drennan said the main issue had been the adoption of a mechanism to allow farmers to “smooth out” their income and put away money under State supervision in good years that could be drawn down in bad years, however, “that commitment has not been delivered in Budget 2026”.
He said the extension of the reliefs on slurry storage, stamp duty and capital gains tax reliefs were welcome “but represent an extension of very important existing relief … with no new initiatives”.
Article Source – Funding for TB eradication programme doubled in Budget
