Farmers hit by new residential land tax say their businesses are under threat

Alan Harford whose cauliflower and beetroot farm in Rush, Co Dublin is being threatened by the new Residential Zone Land Tax. Picture: Moya Nolan

One of the last early cauliflower farmers in Rush, north Co Dublin, has said he will face an “impossible” €50,000 annual tax bill from the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) due to come into effect in 2024.

Alan Harford of Fairy Hill Farm is among seven farmers to have lost An Bórd Pleanála appeals against inclusion in the RZLT to date, with a further 569 decisions set to be published by the board in the coming months.

Mr Harford appealed Fingal County Council’s decision to include 3.2 acres of his farm, where he grows Early London cauliflowers for the domestic market, in a map of residential zoned land eligible for the new RZLT tax. However, An Bórd Pleanala has rejected his appeal.

The Residential Zoned Land Tax, part of the Government’s Housing For All plan, is supposed to prevent land-hoarding by developers and release residential zoned land for housing.

But farmers near urban centres who are farming on land that is zoned residential say they face tax bills that will put them out of business. Rush, where 70% of Ireland’s market gardening happens, has seen several appeals, with other areas including Kerry Pike near Cork City.

Mr Harford, who has not applied for planning permission to develop his land, does not want to sell. However, he told the Irish Examiner his market gardening business will not be viable if he is forced to pay almost €50,000 a year to keep farming.

The local authority has valued Mr Harford’s 3.2 acres at €500,000 per acre, meaning an annual 3% tax of €48,000.

This tax was meant for developers who are sitting on the land banks in and around Dublin — we’re caught in the loop.”

“I didn’t sell the land in the Celtic Tiger times, when I was getting offered stupid money for it,” Mr Harford said. 

“I didn’t want to sell it. I have my own two kids taking an interest in the business, and I’d be hoping down the line to be still here to hand it on to the next generation.” 

Alan Harford: “I didn’t sell the land in the Celtic Tiger times, when I was getting offered stupid money for it,” Mr Harford said." Picture: Moya Nolan

Local authorities published a draft RZLT map in October 2022 to identify eligible land and landowners, developers and members of the public could appeal the inclusion of land up until January 2023.

Those not happy with their council’s decision could then appeal to An Bórd Pleanala, which is now in the process of publishing its decisions.

Of 608 valid appeal applications, An Bórd Pleanala has published 39 decisions so far.

In nine cases, it has decided in favour of those appealing and ordered all the land to be removed from the RZLT map.

In 30 cases, it has rejected the appeal on all or part of the land — of these cases, seven of these, or 23%, are private landowners of agricultural land, while the remaining 23 are appeals by developers or corporations.

Analysis: 'Planning error' may force farmers out as appeals on land tax fall on deaf ears

If the unintended impact of the Residential Zoned Land Tax is to discourage food production close to towns and cities, even as the population of those urban centres grows, what are the long-term impacts of that going to be?

For Alan Harford of Fairy Hill Farm, one thing is clear: if he can’t produce his crop of Early London cauliflowers, which are ready to hit the local market in early to mid-June, then the sellers he supplies will import cauliflowers from the UK and France to fill the gap.

“How is that in line with everything we’re being told about climate change?” he says. “I also employ 10 people locally, with about another five seasonal workers.” 

Rush, where Mr Harford farms, is blessed with uniquely fertile, sandy soils that have made it the market garden of the capital city for hundreds of years, and so the area, governed by Fingal County Council, is on the front line of the RZLT controversy.

But it’s by no means the only area of the country where farmers may be affected. Around 56,000 hectares, or .79% of Irish land, falls within the scope of the RZLT, according to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien.

In Cork city and county, 85 appeals against RZLT inclusion have been made to An Bórd Pleanala. To date, no decisions on these have been published, with most due in the coming two months.

Land parcels under contention in Cork include areas of Sallybrook near Glanmire and Kerry Pike to the west of the city, both areas with a long history of producing food for the second city.

'Planning error'

Maria Young of Cork Food Policy Council says restoring the age-old practice of market gardening close to cities is a vital part of climate resilience and reducing food miles. The application of the RZLT to land being actively farmed constitutes a “planning error” with negative ramifications for food security, she said.

“If there are established market gardens where people are growing commercially, that land should be exempt,” Ms Young says. “It’s absolutely crazy. If you look at what’s happening with the climate in Europe, it’s only a matter of time before there are shortages on supermarket shelves.” 

“Housing is vitally important, but we have to be able to provide people with food too; if we are building homes for a larger population, a larger population also needs more access to food.” 

Cork Food Policy Council, an NGO that campaigns for policy on food security and sustainability, has been looking at models to increase urban farming and food supply, Ms Young says.

“We are currently in conversation with a farmer whose land is within the city bounds to develop a 70-acre market gardening incubation space for those who want to develop horticultural and farming businesses to feed Cork city,” she says.

We need more food being grown within easy reach of cities, not less. And if the RZLT is going to push more market gardeners out of production, then that’s a move in the wrong direction.

The precise number of farmers in Mr Harford’s situation is unknown, but 77% of rejected An Bórd Pleanala appeals announced to date have been appeals by developers, not farmers. The bulk of the appeals decisions are due in the coming months.

In May, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar acknowledged in the Dáil that “100 or possibly 200” farmers were being affected by the RZLT and he said he was speaking with other government ministers about a potential solution, but that a solution might require a change to the law.

“We do accept that anomalies have arisen in cases where somebody has sought a de-zoning or where it is R2 land and we do want to fix it,” Mr Varadkar said. “It may require a change in primary legislation to do so. We should have an answer in the next couple of weeks.” 

Since then, there has been no further update on a solution: farmers want active farmland exempted from the new tax.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) told the Irish Examiner that it is “continuing to engage” on the issue of the RZLT in the hopes that a solution can be found.

“We understand the seriousness of this issue and will continue to work on getting the legislation changed so farmers who want to farm their lands are allowed to continue farming them without the imposition of this penal and unfair tax,” IFA Farm Business Policy Executive, Karol Kissane, says.

“Following on from the statement by An Taoiseach on May 9th that the RZLT issue will need to be ‘fixed,’ we have had constant engagement with senior politicians including at National Economic Dialogue in Dublin Castle on the issue and commitments were again given that a solution will be found.” 

Alan Harford said: “If there is no exemption announced, I have three options. I can sell, I can de-zone the land, or I can pay the tax." Picture: Moya Nolan

For Mr Harford, it feels like too little, too late: he’s worried exemptions for farmers won’t come through in time to avoid his tax liability.

“If there is no exemption announced, I have three options,” he says. “I can sell, I can de-zone the land, or I can pay the tax. Unfortunately I’m not making enough money to be able to afford that much tax each year, so that’s not going to be a runner.” 

Another option for Mr Harford is to apply to have his land de-zoned, a process that will take time, money and energy: the entire RZLT process actually ends up favouring the deep pockets of developers, who can afford to pay planning consultants, over family farms.

Alan Harford: “At the moment, I just don’t know what to do. I’m at a crossroads.” Picture: Moya Nolan

“A lot of the big developers who lost appeals will get the land de-zoned because they can afford to sit on it until the next zoning in 2029,” he says. “If I get it de-zoned, I can’t get it rezoned until 2029 either and then I will probably incur a charge. 

"In the meantime, if something goes wrong for me and I find myself forced to sell, I will have devalued my land.” But with children currently going through agricultural college, selling is the last thing he wants to do.

“If I were a few years older and had no kids following up behind me I might sell it and retire, but the next generation is coming along and I’d like to give them the same start I got,” he says. “At the moment, I just don’t know what to do. I’m at a crossroads.”