The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Lobbying Organisation The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Date published 18 Sep, 2025

Relevant Matter Legislation

Public Policy Area EU Affairs

Period 1 May, 2025 to 31 Aug, 2025

Specific Details Key Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027 - Pillar II Interventions

Intended results • Pillar II must be retained within the traditional CAP structure, and used, together with maximum permissible levels of national co-financing to provide vital supports (of lesser number but at increased payment rates to retain overall payment amounts) to farmers in the more vulnerable sectors, namely beef (cattle rearing, suckler farming and other types of drystock cattle enterprises), sheep and tillage. Irish suckler farmers operate one of the most environmentally sustainable beef farming systems in the world, and they are a critical component of the beef production industry. Future schemes must be simplified, ambitious and provide meaningful support to the sector. Costings must be increased/updated, and additional practical and beneficial measures defined for suckler farmers. • Expand the scope of the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme to include farmers who rear and finish weanlings and stores from suckler farms, with a budget allocation which can deliver at least €100 per animal • Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme - essential to support and optimise the welfare of dairy calves and their beef value in the farming and food chain. • Sheep Improvement Scheme - the scheme must have a funding allocation to deliver €30/ewe to all participants for all ewes applied for, with increased/updated costings and additional practical and beneficial measures for sheep farmers. • The Straw Incorporation Measure must remain for 2028 and beyond, with an increased annual budget (to €13.75m) to enable 55,000ha of straw to be incorporated back into soils annually by 2030 as stipulated under the Climate Action Plan. • Having Pillar II schemes based on a ‘costs incurred, and income foregone' model means that, by definition, these schemes cannot improve farmers' incomes. This needs to change. The ‘costs incurred/income foregone' calculations should set a baseline from which greater remuneration is provided to incentivise participation. They should be the minimum, not the maximum, payment involved. • Agri-environmental schemes should be available and appealing to all farmers (not only at the start of the new CAP programme), complementary to eco-schemes, with a flexible application commitment period (e.g. from 1 year to 5 years) and more attractive payments provided (beyond merely the cost incurred / income foregone). Baseline requirements should be removed, with payment to meet national mandatory requirements, plus any additional actions, provided. A loyalty bonus should be built into payments where farmers continually participate in agrienvironmental schemes. The ACRES scheme has been shambolic and has failed to deliver for farmers. We need a revamped environmental scheme that provides farmers with a minimum annual payment of €15,000. • Organics - Increased investment is required to develop suitable markets and outlets for both existing and projected organic produce. Funding for the Organic Farm Scheme should be increased to incentivise and further develop the land area under organic production, with the participation payment maintained. Dual funding is a barrier for anyone considering converting to organic farming or already participating in the Organic Farming Scheme. This should be reviewed in the next CAP. • Forestry - In August 2023, the European Commission granted State Aid approval to the afforestation scheme under Ireland's Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027, subject to several criteria. The condition on organo-mineral soils should be reviewed so that peat depth of less than or equal to 50 cm, subject to appropriate assessment screening, is eligible under the afforestation scheme. In addition, the mandatory broadleaf area requirement should be reduced to 15% as per the previous programme. An amendment to the State aid guidelines to support farmers with ash dieback is also required. • Areas Facing Natural Constraints (ANC) The ANC scheme must be co-funded to the maximum by the National Exchequer. • The budget to support ANC should be increased to €300 million per annum, with eligible land thresholds restored to their previous levels. • Producer Organisations must contribute in practical and tangible terms to improving the position of farmers in the food chain, empowering them to have greater negotiation weight, including on prices, specifications and production conditions. Measures and supports must be available across all sectors, be adequately resourced, farmer-friendly and keep bureaucratic requirements to a minimum. • TAMS - All farm-related items currently eligible for grant aid in TAMS III should continue to be eligible for grant aid in a new On-Farm Capital Investment Scheme, together with additions such as the dribble bar, ATV, UTV, virtual collars/ fencing, quad gates, etc. Permitting grant aid to meet legal requirements is beneficial; the timeline of which, particularly for new entrants, should be extended. • The volume of supporting /certifying documentation should be reduced. • Investment costs should be updated more regularly or index-linked to ensure reference costs that better reflect prevailing market costs. Non-farm investments should be supported outside of CAP. • Investment ceilings should increase beyond the current €90,000 (€160,000 for Registered Farm Partnerships) to better account for the inflationary impact on eligible investment items and preserve the benefit of the grant-aid provided. • For the young farmer, extend the duration of additional support for investments beyond the 5 years since first established to 10 years. • Removing the herd size limit on investments. • Payments need to be accelerated – too many farmers are having to resort to taking out bridging loans and extending their term to fund investments while waiting on the grant. • The Collaborative Farming Grant, which supports farm partnerships, should be available to both existing partnerships and newly formed ones. • The Knowledge Transfer Programme should be retained, with its coverage expanded. • LEADER Programme - a sustainable budget should be provided for future LEADER Programmes to drive ‘bottomup, community-led' investment to create and sustain employment in rural Ireland; provide funding in the rural environment, and support climate change mitigation initiatives in rural communities. It is essential to involve all stakeholders, including farmers, in LEADER Boards and similar initiatives. • Natura 2000 sites – the economic impact of designation needs to be better realised in future CAP schemes, and no further restrictions should apply to designated / Natura 2000 lands. Increased support (advisory, financial, etc) beyond priority access to mainstream schemes should be provided, and agricultural activity allowed to continue, with a full review of the internal operating dynamics surrounding designations, compensation and applications for Actions Requiring Consent in consultation with key farming stakeholders. A ‘no compensation, no designation' policy should apply. Where financial resources are not available to remunerate impacted farmers for lost income potential, security and asset devaluations, the designations should be removed. • European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) play a valuable role in peer-to-peer awareness raising, enabling groups of farmers to adopt and share practices that improve biodiversity, among other environmental benefits. EIPs must be more readily scalable to benefit farmers directly, and there must be no leakage of funds away from the farmers concerned. Locally led schemes that have been audited and have been proven to deliver environmental benefits should be reinstated in the next CAP Locally led schemes that have been audited and have been proven to deliver environmental benefits should be reinstated in the next CAP. Additional supports (advisory & financial) are also required in participating areas after the EIP ends, to maintain positive momentum and engagement secured. • Risk Management – the primary objective should be to keep farmers productive, ensuring food security. Given the new and greater frequency of challenges presenting, it is essential to ensure a toolbox of interventions is available where required to secure farmers' incomes (distinctive but complementary to direct payments; crisis management; agricultural reserve In this regard it is essential to keep it voluntary for Member States to establish/keep it voluntary for Member States to establish/keep a risk management system/framework within the CAP or outside the CAP. The advantages of being within the CAP are that it potentially supports better coordination of instruments and objectives, but it is likely more bureaucratic than being outside the CAP. Outside the CAP, while potentially quicker to access necessary funds, it can be costly and reliant on the Member State's financial capacity to support. There needs to be an EU approach to geopolitical risks outside the CAP.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Francie Gorman IFA President, Damian McDonald IFA Director General, Elaine Farrell IFA Director of Governance & Oireachtas Engagement, Tadhg Buckley IFA Director of Policy & Chief Economist, Liam MacHale IFA Director of European Affairs, Shane Whelan IFA Senior Policy Executive, Noel Banville IFA European Policy Executive

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

Mass communications

Letter All TDs

Submission All TDs

Letter All MEPs

Submission All MEPs

Letter All Senators

Submission All Senators

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Letter (1)

Email (6-10)

Social Media (2-5)

Meeting (1)

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.

Aindrias Moynihan TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin MEP (European Parliament)

Barry Andrews MEP (European Parliament)

Barry Cowen MEP (European Parliament)

Billy Kelleher MEP (European Parliament)

Ciaran Mullooly MEP (European Parliament)

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú MEP (European Parliament)

Kathleen Funchion MEP (European Parliament)

Kieran O'Donnell Minister of State (Department of Health)

Luke Ming Flanagan MEP (European Parliament)

Lynn Boylan MEP (European Parliament)

Maria Walsh MEP (European Parliament)

Martin Heydon Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)

Michael McNamara MEP (European Parliament)

Michael Moynihan Minister of State (Department of Education)

Micheál Martin Taoiseach (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Nina Carberry MEP (European Parliament)

Noel Grealish Minister of State (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)

Norma Foley Minister (Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth)

Paul Daly Senator (Seanad)

Regina Doherty MEP (European Parliament)

Ruairí Ó Murchú TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Sean Canney Minister of State (Department of Transport)

Sean Kelly MEP (European Parliament)

Timmy Dooley Minister of State (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)

Brian Purcell Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture and the Marine)

Barry Cassidy Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)