ANC and livestock payments: key issues in Budget
BUDGET 2026 – to be revealed on Tuesday next, October 7th – will be judged by West of Ireland farmers on two main issues: ANC payment rates, as well as suckler cow and sheep grants.
While nationally the tillage sector is being viewed as being under most financial pressure, ANC rates of payment and livestock supports will mean the most to Galway and western farmers.
Galway IFA Chairman, Stephen Canavan, told the Farming Tribune this week that there was no justification for ANC payments still not being restored to their pre-financial crash levels of 2008.
“Every other sector affected by the financial crash have had their payments restored – it’s just hard to credit that the ANC payments are still €50 million below what they were in 2008.
“While we’ve had some positive responses to this request from Oireachtas members, we still haven’t yet received any concrete indication that this payment will be restored.
“In terms of simplicity, no extra paperwork or bureaucracy is involved in restoring the ANC payment amount to what it was in 2008: this would be a very effective way of helping lower income farmers in the West of Ireland.
“And given the weight of regulations and environmental measures that farmers must comply with, the restoration of the ANC monies, would be a very positive and tangible move,” said Stephen Canavan.
He added that Budget 2026 also needed to build on the commitments in the Programme for Government in relation to cow and sheep payments.
“While the commitment is there in the Programme for Government to increase the suckler payment to €300 per cow [for the first 22 cows], we don’t want this increase left to the final year of this Government’s term – it has to be built on, year on year,” said Stephen Canavan.
He stated that the same principle applied to the ewe payments which needed to be increased from the current figure of €25 to €30 per animal.
“Over the past three years, there are 350,000 less lambs being processed at our meat plants and this trend needs to be reversed. Increasing the ewe payment would be an important boost for this sector,” said the Galway IFA Chairman.
IFA Livestock Chair, Declan Hanrahan, this week also called on Minister Martin Heydon to build on the supports for suckler farmers in next week’s Budget, and to meet the €300/cow commitment, that he and his party gave to farmers in their election manifesto.
“€28m was provided in last year’s Budget to bring payments to €225/cow for the first 22 cows this year. This must be built on to bring the payment to €300/cow for all suckler cows. This sector has lost over 250,000 cows in the last 10 years,” he said.
Pictured: Galway IFA Chairman, Stephen Canavan