Budget 2026: Larger parties are not honouring their pre-budget promises to farmers

Pat Collins, tillage farmer Castlemartyr, Co. Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

The announced €50m awarded to the tillage sector is “just another nail in the coffin,” explains Cork-based tillage farmer Pat Collins.

Mr Collins from Castlemartyr, Cork, who plants and harvests spring and winter barley, maize, sugar beet and beans on his farm, told the Irish Examiner that the newly announced budget was “very disappointing.”

Referencing manifestos published by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael announcing €60m to be allocated to the tillage sector pre-election, Mr Collins said: “It shows that the larger political parties aren’t honouring their pre-budget promises.”

Ahead of the budget, tillage farmers were looking for €250 per hectare of product for a period of five years to remain viable as a sector.

“This payment of €250 for five years is so we can re-establish the tillage industry as a viable option, and a viable option for young farmers going forward, because we need the tillage industry,” Mr Collins said. “It’s an industry worth supporting. It’s a large part of our agricultural industry.”

He said the sector maintains a major role in supplying and uplifting other agricultural sectors with feed, straw, fertiliser, or offsetting harmful emissions.

“The tillage sector has a huge role to play in terms of greenwashing Irish agriculture,” he said, explaining that many, if not all, tillage farmers have adapted to environmental policies to incorporate environmentally beneficial practices and procedures in everyday life in an effort to safeguard soil, habitats and native crops and wildlife.

“There was a lot of talk out of Paschal Donohoe around carbon and being more carbon efficient, yet the most carbon efficient food sector we have, they’re only barely giving enough support to let farmers think that they’re supporting them.”

Discussing the livestock industry, Mr Collins explains that without support, the tillage sector will continue to dwindle in favour of more profitable land uses, which could in turn jeopardise the likes of the pig and poultry sector.

Without tillage land, those sectors would not be able to offset manure as fertilisers for crops, the Irish tillage sector being the core market for this sustainable fertiliser.

Another issue Mr Collins raised is the cheaper imports available for feed and drinks sector supplies that Irish grains can’t compete with on the market in terms of pricing.

Despite Irish grain being well within the requirements for distillers and available to use in Irish distilling, it is passed over for cheaper imports.

With stipulations for the drinks industry requiring the use of Irish water and not necessarily native grains to allow them to use ‘Irish Whiskey’ on their labels, Mr Collins stressed that the tillage sector needs more support and safeguards like that of the Mercosur deal to ensure Irish grain remains profitable.

“I think this is another major blow for the tillage sector at a time when they need to be supported,” said Mr Collins. “This budget has cost tillage farmers money, end of story.”