As details of the budget for 2025 emerge, the response from the Irish taxpayer is underwhelm. The gross total voted expenditure is €117.8 billion – an overall increase of €8.1 billion. Despite the increased expenditure, it offers very little in the way of assistance to working people struggling with rising costs. But what does it mean specifically for beef farmers?
Overall, the budget for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is €1,967 million with a capital expenditure allowance of €335 million – although what counts as capital expenditure for agriculture and which sectors reap the most benefits, remains to be seen.
Some decisions made in 2025 have predetermined the allocation of €1.1 billion. This includes spending on the Bovine TB Action Plan. Compensation for affected livestock has fallen far behind market values this year, particularly for pedigree animals and this needs to be addressed.
Of the €1,967 million allocated as current spending for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, €404 million has been allocated to the Exchequer Pay Allocation – meaning that just shy of a quarter of the annual spend is dedicated to wages for 6,045 public servants (full-time equivalents).
Expenditure is delivered under 4 key programmes with headline spending as follows:
Spending under Programme A – Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health and Animal Welfare commits the Department to carrying out 8,300 food safety & hygiene inspections, 9 million Bovine TB tests, 600 heath inspections on farms, 300 welfare inspections on farms, 92,000 consignment inspections at Border Control and 17,000 plant import inspections.
Under Programme B – Farm, Forestry Sector Supports and Controls doesn’t contain any new commitments but does promise a continuation of supports through the CAP Strategic Plan, the 53,800 farmers in ACRES, targeted supports for sustainable beef, sheep and dairy sectors, the National Sheep Scheme, Forestry Programme, investment in Tillage and Horticulture Sectors and the 5,400 farmers in Organics.
Programme C – Policy & Strategy will provide supports to agencies within the scope of the Department as well as investing in public sector research, innovation, education and advice and commits to continuing to fund current initiatives to improve farm safety and wellness amongst the farming community.
Programme D – Seafood Sector supports the development of aquaculture fishing and processing but otherwise commits to continuing supports for Marine agencies, full implementation of Common Fisheries Policy and administration of European Maritime, Fisheries and Acquaculture Fund while winding down the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Overall, it is a lackluster budget with little in the way of innovation geared towards addressing long-standing issues. As an observation, it would be interesting to compare how much of the fund as totals goes into farmers pockets versus how much is dedicated to ‘support infrastructure’.
Some concerning items are listed in the reform section. A commitment to review current programmes for ‘administrative efficiency and cost savings’ to be delivered by combining schemes. Examples of such schemes given include the Multi-Species Sward Measure and Red Clover Silage Measure.
The Department have also committed to a review of fees levied for services to maximize income from these sources ‘without placing excessive burdens on industry’. Services to be reviewed include lab fees, certification fees, disease levies, pet passports and access to Land Commission records.
Under ‘Identification and delivery of administrative savings’, the department commit to continuing their work in consolidating offices to save money but also listed is the Bovine TB Action Plan where services at individual Registered Veterinary Offices will be streamlined for efficiency in a Lean Review.
It does state that the budget for the Bovine TB Action Plan has doubled to over €157 million to meet goals across 5 actions – supporting herds to remain TB free, reduce impact of wildlife, early detection and elimination of infected animals, improving on-farm bio-security and reducing impact of high-risk animals.
Finally, significant reform is promised in relation to Information Technology with a new online framework for applications for payment and the exploration of an ‘enterprise IT system’. There can be little doubt after the ACRES payment fiasco that the IT services are in need of overhaul (much of which, in theory, was supposed to have been completed), so this is a very welcome development.
Compared to 2025 estimates, current spending has increased from €2,139 million to €2,302 million resulting in an additional €162 million or a 9.1% increase. Capital spending has reduced by 0.5%.
It is good to see much-needed supports continue but disappointing to see a lack of fresh thinking and innovation that offers solutions to real-world experiences of farmers. We will update as further details on specific elements emerge.