Macra demands immediate action on young farmer supports

Macra president Josephine O'Neill said urgent action was required to support young farmers and warned delaying until CAP 2028 would be 'simply too late'

Macra na Feirme national president Josephine O'Neill.

A call for urgent action was made by Macra president Josephine O’Neill for the support of young farmers.

Ms O’Neill has called for immediate and decisive action to support young farmers, warning waiting until CAP 2028 is simply too late given the current level of uncertainty facing the sector.

Speaking at the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) AGM at the Irish Farm Centre this week, Ms O’Neill questioned agriculture minister Martin Heydon on what concrete measures his department planned to introduce, in the short term, to support young farmers and ensure farming remains a viable and attractive career.

Ms O’Neill asked Mr Heydon: “Considering the huge uncertainty surrounding Mercosur and the statistics of young farmers, waiting until CAP 2028 is too late to commit to young farmers. So what do you and your department propose in the immediate future to support young farmers and ensure that farming is a viable and attractive career for future farmers?” 

In response, Mr Heydon said: “Taxation is our single greatest support to generational renewal.” 

While acknowledging the role taxation measures could play, Ms O’Neill said taxation alone was not enough to address the scale of the challenge facing generational renewal in Irish farming.

“We need far more work to normalise conversations around succession at the farm level and to actively encourage and support families to plan for the future,” she said.

Ms O’Neill emphasised the recommendations already made by the Commission on Generational Renewal must be accelerated and implemented well before 2028.

She said without immediate action, Ireland risks losing an entire generation of potential farmers.

“If we are serious about food security, rural vitality and the future of farming, then generational renewal must move from rhetoric to action. Waiting until the next CAP risks leaving young farmers behind.”