€100m fuel support scheme gets a guarded welcome
THE announcement by Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, of a €100 million fuel support package for farmers, agri-contractors and fishers, has been given a guarded welcome by farm representatives.
Under the terms of the scheme, €20 million per month will be provided by the Dept. of Agriculture, for the five months period of March to July, inclusive.
According to Minister Heydon, the financial package will be the equivalent of a 20 cents reduction per litre of green diesel and will be based on 'verified fuel consumption in 2025'.
The Minister said that approximately 120,000 farmers and 1,500 full-time agricultural contractors would be eligible to apply for the support payments through a single application process.
We have worked intensively with representative stakeholder groups in recent times, and I believe that this represents a fair and effective scheme
"We have worked intensively with representative stakeholder groups in recent times, and I believe that this represents a fair and effective scheme based on actual fuel usage, taking account also of the vital work played by farm contractors in our farming systems.
"This approach ensures that funding is directed where it is needed most, helping to sustain essential food production and rural economic activity,” said Minister Heydon.
IFA National President, Francie Gorman, said that while the package of measures announced by the Minister was 'significant', the situation needed to be kept under review to ensure that 'the agri-sector would be protected in these highly volatile times.
He said that the €100 million package announced by the Minister was similar to the one proposed by the IFA over two weeks ago but added that the scheme needed to be user friendly and flexible to ensure that those in need of support got it quickly.
Francis Gorman said that the IFA would continue to campaign vigorously on the ongoing fuel crisis but warned of the dangers of 'their valid campaigns being used by people with other agendas'.
“The structure and rollout of this scheme must happen quickly and the Department needs to ensure it is efficient and effective. The concern among farmers and agri-contractors now is that it will be overly bureaucratic and too slow.
The Government still needs to address the carbon tax in the next budget
“The Government still needs to address the carbon tax in the next budget. The decision not to apply the increase due in May is the right one, but the whole tax is very unfair and punitive for farmers and rural Ireland.
“The Government must do far more to address the frustration and anger in rural Ireland, particularly around the cost of doing business and over-regulation,” said Francie Gorman.
The Fuel Subside Support Scheme [FSSS] has been targeted to coincide with the peak spring-summer season for diesel usage with farmers and agri-contractors - farm diesel has shot up in price from €0.97c per litre to€1.80 per litre, due to the US and Israeli war campaign against Iran.