Relevant Matter
Matters involving public funds
Public Policy Area
Agriculture
Period
1 May. 2026 to 31 Aug. 2026
Specific Details
Fertiliser Crisis Support Package
Intended results
To welcome the European Commission's announcement of a €540 million support package to assist farmers affected by the current fertiliser crisis. While the detailed regulation governing the distribution of these funds has yet to be published, we urge the Government to commit to co-funding Ireland's allocation to the maximum level permitted under the scheme (200%) to ensure a support package of sufficient scale and impact.
To propose the following;
1. Support must go directly to farmers The impact of rising fertiliser costs is borne by primary producers. Any financial support should therefore be targeted directly at farmers rather than other actors within the supply chain.
2. Funding should be targeted to those most exposed. Given the likely size of Ireland's allocation relative to the scale of the challenge, a universal flat-rate payment would dilute the effectiveness of the measure. Support should instead be targeted towards sectors and enterprises most vulnerable to fertiliser cost increases and market disruption.
3. Government must provide certainty quickly. Dairy and beef farmers have experienced reduced output prices in 2026, while all incurred higher fertiliser costs during the spring. This has significantly tightened cashflows across these sectors and raises serious concerns about a potential cashflow crisis in the months ahead.
To highlight that Irish tillage farmers are also approaching critical planting decisions for winter cereals and oilseeds against a backdrop of weak grain prices and rising input costs. The Food Vision 2030 Tillage Group has set a target of expanding the tillage area to 400,000 hectares as part of Ireland's land-use diversification and climate objectives. Achieving this target will become increasingly difficult without meaningful support for one of the largest variable costs facing the sector.
To highlight several significant challenges currently facing Irish Agriculture including
- CBAM and Fertiliser Availability Ireland remains entirely dependent on imported fertiliser. Since the invasion of Ukraine, fertiliser sourcing has become increasingly challenging, and the introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has added further uncertainty to supply chains. Concerns already exist regarding fertiliser availability for Spring 2027.
While supply constraints experienced in 2026 were partially mitigated through advance imports ahead of CBAM implementation, the outlook for 2027 remains uncertain. We continue to call for a suspension or derogation from CBAM fertiliser tariffs for Ireland to safeguard national food and fodder production.
- Market Confidence and Supply Security Industry engagement indicates that confidence across the fertiliser market remains extremely low. As Ireland imports all of its fertiliser requirements, delays in normal purchasing patterns increase the risk of supply shortages and potential fodder security challenges in Spring 2027.
- Fertiliser Affordability Fertiliser prices have increased substantially during 2026, while farmgate prices for many agricultural commodities remain significantly below the levels experienced during the 2022 fertiliser price crisis. In addition to aforementioned challenges faced by tillage farmers, the combination of lower output prices and elevated input costs is placing severe pressure on farm profitability and cashflow of beef and dairy farms also.
- Climate Action Plan Commitments Protected urea remains one of the most important measures available to agriculture in delivering Ireland's Climate Action Plan commitments. Maintaining farmer access to affordable fertiliser products is essential if Ireland is to continue making progress towards its emissions reduction targets while sustaining agricultural output.
To stress that the challenges facing fertiliser affordability, availability and market confidence require an immediate and decisive response. We urge Government to maximise the value of Ireland's allocation through full co-funding and to implement a targeted support scheme that delivers meaningful assistance to farmers ahead of the 2027 growing season.
To propose that Acorn, ICMSA, ICOS, IFA, IFMBA and Macra have the opportunity to meet with the Minister at the earliest opportunity to discuss this very important issue.
To call on the Government, as a matter of urgency, to provide co-funding up to the maximum of 200%. The delivery of a strong fertiliser support package will provide much needed support to farmers, who have faced, and are facing uncertain and elevated fertiliser costs. The challenges facing fertiliser affordability, availability and market confidence require an immediate and decisive response from Government.
To call on the Government to retain the funding unallocated under the fuel support scheme for the farming sector due to the unprecedented challenges it is facing. This funding must be retained for the sector and in a similar way to energy, fertiliser prices are equally elevated and remain exposed due to the unfolding situation.
Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity
Francie Gorman IFA President
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 (6-10)
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)
Jack Chambers
Minister of State (Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform)
Jack O'Donnell
Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Martin Heydon
Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Sam Griffin
Adviser to Minister (Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform)
Sarah Bardon
Chief of Staff (Department of Finance)
Shane Smyth
Adviser to Minister (Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform)