The new levies imposed by Kerry County Council on farm buildings have caused shock among Kerry farmers, according to IFA Kerry chair Pat O’Driscoll.

Earlier this week, Kerry County Council passed an amendment which will see a levy of €4.10/sq metre applied to farm buildings over 250sq metres.

O’Driscoll told the Irish Farmers Journal that the cost of modernising farms and complying with regulation in Ireland already puts a lot of pressure on farmers and the last thing farmers need is another cost.

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“We’re a low-income sector and we create a lot of employment in the county, both upstream and downstream.

“Most farm buildings that are being built in the future are being built for farm modernisation, compliance with regulation and quality assurance,” O’Driscoll said.

The costs cannot be passed along the chain. O’Driscoll noted how these costs are for the farmer: “Our milk price is not going to increase because our levy has gone up; it’s a form of double taxation.”

Information is power.

However O’Driscoll plans on appealing this.

“Information is power. I’ll find out what is happening in the rest of the counties around the country – this lacks national co-ordination”, he said.

O’Driscoll feels there should be national guidelines. Counties like Clare have a larger exemption of 800sq metres instead of the 250sq metres pushed on Kerry farmers.

“A farmer in Clare has the same costs that I have. Limerick looked at this lately and they decided there was no need to bring farming into this,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

O’Driscoll pointed out that farming should be encouraged as it is a sector that brings employment and is the back bone of most counties.

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