The long-awaited €100m fuel support scheme for farmers and contractors will open in the coming weeks.

Farmers and agricultural contractors will receive a support rate equivalent to approximately 20c/l or €200 per 1,000l of green diesel based on verified fuel usage in 2025, the Department said.

It is understood that the minimum payment under the scheme will be €100 and a maximum payment limit is to be applied to payments under the scheme. This payment limit will be dependent on the number of applications to the scheme and could be land anywhere between €30,000 and €50,000.

Payments will be based on a self-declaration from 2025 receipts or statements.

Eligibility

Farmers who use green diesel for primary agricultural or forestry production on farm are eligible to apply to the scheme. Road diesel use is not eligible.

Farm and forestry contractors providing services on farm for primary production are also eligible and must be VAT-registered and tax-compliant.

Around 120,000 farmers and 1,500 full-time agricultural contractors are expected to be eligible to apply.

Applications are expected to open in mid-May 2026 for a three-to-four week window, with payments to follow. A single payment covering the full period will be issued under the scheme. Payments will not be made in monthly instalments.

Farmers will be asked to supply their usage for the 12 months of 2025 based on receipted expenditure.

Some €15m of the scheme is ring-fenced for fishers and the aquaculture sector.

Meanwhile, a separate scheme for road hauliers has also been launched. Run by the Department of Transport, the Road Transporters Support Scheme (RTSS) will be open to licensed road haulage operators and the own account sector, in respect of certain heavy goods vehicles (over 3,500kg in laden weight) where the vehicle is used in the haulage business.

Construction contractors and quarry truck drivers will also be covered by the new scheme.

The RTSS will follow the same structure as the 2023 Licensed Haulage Support Scheme (LHSS), in which payments were graduated based on the number of vehicles on an operator’s licence.

The graduated approach means that smaller businesses will receive a proportionately greater level of support. An adjustment to the 2023 payment levels has been made to reflect inflationary pressures since then.

Based on Department of Transport data, the average licensed haulier has 17 vehicles on their operator licence. Under the scheme this business would receive a payment of €16,230 (€1,350 each for five vehicles, plus €790 each for the remaining 12 vehicles).

In order to apply for this scheme, hauliers must have met the following criteria by 1 March 2026:

  • Licensed road haulage operators, payment on vehicles over 3,500kg listed on their licence.
  • “Own account” operators, businesses that run their own heavy goods vehicles (over 3,500kg) in the carriage of goods, but aren’t required to hold a haulage licence.
  • Licensed bus and coach operators.
  • Construction contractors and quarry truck drivers, to be covered under the scheme.
  • All vehicles must be tax-registered with valid tax clearance and a solvent, active business.