The tillage sector is set to get €30m, at least, in support from the 2026 Budget in the form of a one-off payment.

The fund is very similar to the one-off funding paid out last year in the form of a €100/ha payment to the beleaguered sector.

"I don't envisage it being the same as last year," Minister Martin Heydon said on Tuesday evening, pledging to engage with the IFA and the Irish Grain Growers Group.

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"If we really want to support the tillage sector, I think that the scheme we establish needs to be more targeted."

Heydon pointed to the overall support for the sector.

"What I'm saying very clearly in this budget is at least €50m for the tillage sector. So, we'll have €10m for the protein aid, and €10m for the Straw Incorporation Measure. The [IFA] meeting in Killashee allowed me to set forward my vision for the tillage sector. I'm passionate for this area, I want to support it beyond the medium term. I know farmers are making decisions now and I know when land goes out of tillage into grass, it rarely, if ever, goes back."

Electoral promises

The farm organisations have highlighted the gap between the funding delivered and electoral promises less than a year ago.

Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael pledged €60m a year in last year's election manifestos. In the case of Fine Gael, Martin Heydon specifically said that €60m would be in addition to existing schemes such as the SIM and protein aid.

IFA grain committee chair Kieran McEvoy described the €30m allocation as "a help for a sector in crisis that ultimately falls short".

McEvoy said: "The IFA believes that €65m annual funding for five years is necessary to ensure the tillage sector remains secure into the future."