In a budget that aimed to give a little to everybody, providing farmers with a means to access cheaper credit has been long sought after by Macra na Feirme. Seán Finan, national president of Macra na Feirme, said: ‘‘Affordable credit is the lifeblood of a young farmer’s business when starting out and establishing themselves in the industry. We look forward to hearing the full details of the proposal but our understanding is that it is unsecured credit, which is favourable to young farmers as they may not have the necessary assets to act as security, but have a comprehensive business plan and will be able to demonstrate repayment capacity.’’

The extension of the farm restructuring relief scheme until 2019 is a boost, which will aid land mobility. This move further extends the existing measure and will aid the mobility of land, allowing farmers to consolidate their holdings in a tax-efficient way. Commenting on this development, Finan said: ‘‘Getting the correct structural environment regarding land mobility for Irish farming is essential for future growth and competitiveness of the industry.’’

Macra has also welcomed the increase in the capital acquisitions tax threshold in Category A from €280,000 to €310,000. Macra, however, had called for an increase to €350,000. Finan said: ‘‘We feel this is a step in the right direction but Minister Noonan could have gone further.’’

Commenting on the increase of €5.5m in funding for youth organisations, Finan said: ‘‘The additional €5.5m to boost the support provided to youth work programmes and services by the voluntary youth work sector is also welcomed by Macra.

‘‘We look forward to engaging with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in receiving our fair share of the increased budget.’’

Macra is calling on the Minister for Agriculture to strongly advocate 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).

The announcement of a €25m sheep welfare scheme is welcome, but the Macra na Feirme president said: ‘‘Macra is deeply disappointed that a young farmer top-up was not applied.’’

It is hoped that rural Ireland will see the benefits of the recruitment of 800 new members to the gardaí. Finan said: ‘More gardaí would make those who live in rural areas feel safer in their homes. It’s no secret that rural crime has been a major issue in Ireland recently, so we hope this move will see additional gardaí deployed to rural Ireland.’’