Budget 2026 has done nothing for farmers only take money out of their pockets, according to Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Martin Kenny.

The reality is, Kenny said, that farmers will be out of pocket as a result of the reduction in the flat rate addition for VAT from 5.1% to 4.5%. This could cost farmers up to €60 million this year, he said.

“There was a lot of speculation and rumour about cuts to beef and sheep schemes in the last few days to fund the new TB eradication programme.This was all hype so that farmers should now be relieved and thankful that the current schemes remain in place.

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“We all know that bovine TB is out of control and has been for years as a result of inaction by this Government and previous Governments. The Government have under budgeted for the TB programme since 2020 and they have done so again today," he said.

The cost of implementing the new bovine TB eradication programme for 2026 will be €181.7m, Kenny said, according to the Department’s own calculations. Yet, they have only increased the budget to €157m.

“The so-called increase of €20m in the ACRES scheme is an insult to farmers when we still have farmers who have not received their payments for the ACRES scheme and no farmer has received payment for Non-Productive Investments (NPI’S) that they applied for in 2023," he said.

The budget should have gone a lot further to support farming and the agriculture sector, there was no additional funding for TAMS, no mention of generational renewal, no increase in ANC and nothing for the beef or suckler sector, Kenny argued.

“Farmers will be very disappointed with this budget as they know there are a lot of obstacles coming down the line with the Mercosur trade deal and the 22% cut to the CAP budget," he said.