The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) is seeking €60m for BEEP-S in 2022, €20/ewe under the Sheep Welfare Scheme and grant-aid for drones to assist farmers with hill flocks.

In its pre-budget submission, it also called for up to €4m/year for the marketing and development of a naturally reared suckler beef herd and an additional €1m for Bord Bia to develop light lamb markets.

It said that unspent money from the Sheep Welfare Scheme could be used to pay farmers to cover the cost of EID tagging.

The organisation called for an intervention model to deal with the backlog of wool in the absense of no market to cover the costing for the product.

The INHFA is seeking a one-year scheme for farmers not in an agri-environment scheme

It is also looking for a new research and development budget of €3m to be used after the Department of Agriculture’s wool feasibility study is completed.

The INHFA is seeking a one-year scheme for farmers not in an agri-environment scheme, with a budget of between €50m to €100m, to be funded from carbon taxes.

A €25m boost to the ANC scheme and a commitment that from 2022 a €150/ha payment per annum is given to farmers on designated land are also being sought by the INHFA.

The INHFA has also called for €8m for a farm safety training module

It has also called for a new ‘universal basic income’ payment with 500 spaces for farmers. This would allow farmers in Farm Assist to move into this scheme, voluntarily, and receive a weekly allowance of €200/week.

It would be defined as income in tax returns and would be eligible for tax if their overall income merited taxing, it said. The INHFA has also called for €8m for a farm safety training module.

This would be voluntary for farmers and it has proposed a six-hour standardised training course for farmers, who would receive €100 for attending, tax free.