Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesperson Charlie McConalogue

“Close to 100,000 farmers are eligible for ANC payments and will now be forced to wait until 2018 to see traction on ANC payment restoration. Restoring ANC payments to 2007 levels is a key Fianna Fáil policy. It is also regrettable that no specific funding was ring-fenced to provide financial assistance to those who have seen their land and crop destroyed by severe weather. Tillage farmers will feel especially let down by the Government in this regard. Fianna Fáil succeeded in seeing the brutal cuts to farm assist reversed, as well as an increase in places for the Rural Social Scheme.”

ICMSA president John Comer

“On the plus side, changes to the USC and the extension of earned income credits for self-employed are general benefits, though the taxation system still has an in-built bias against farmers and self-employed in terms of individual credit.

“The step-out facility being introduced for income averaging saying is, at best a niche solution. Most farmers would be better served by the introduction of the farm management deposit scheme that ICMSA have lobbied for. The crippling reality of destructive income volatility could only be addressed by a scheme of this scope and structure.

“We are critical of the diversion of the EU crisis fund into a fund for low-interest loans instead of being utilised in a flat payment per dairy farmer in the manner that ICMSA had proposed.”

Macra na Feirme president Sean Finan

“Macra is calling for the additional funding of €107m to the Rural Development Programme to allow for an increase in areas available such as grazing infrastructure under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS).

“We welcome the announcement that 800 new gardaí will be recruited and urge the Government to combat the ongoing rural crime issue by deploying these additional gardaí to rural Ireland. Macra is deeply disappointed that a young farmer top-up was not applied to the sheep welfare scheme.”

ICSA president Paddy Kent

“Last year’s budget saw a €550 earned tax credit introduced with a commitment that the subsequent two budgets would also feature an additional €550. Instead only €400 has been allocated. This suggests that the commitment to the self-employed is not as strong as it should be,” he said. Regarding the provision to allow farmers to opt out of income averaging, Kent said: “This will be a help this year but a deeper examination of how to tax volatile incomes and the inequities around self-employed taxation is needed.”

Martin Keane – ICOS president

ICOS over the past 12 months engaged with the Department of Agriculture and Finance on the development of a new volatility taxation measure designed to enable a farmer to voluntarily defer 5% of his income in any given year, to be drawn down within five years. ICOS is disappointed that the measure was not finalised in time for this year’s budget. That said, we acknowledge that the minister is committed to further consideration.

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Full coverage: Budget 2017