Hiking the carbon tax represents a major blow to hard-pressed farm families
The Rural Independent Group of TDs has strongly criticised Budget 2023 for its abject failure to support hard-pressed farmers, who are being hammered by crippling input costs.
The group Leader Deputy Mattie Mc Grath stated:
“Unfortunately, the rollover of the fodder and tillage schemes in the Budget, while welcome, are completely insufficient to mitigate the rocketing farm input costs, which are now at least 40 percent higher than a year ago. Increased feed, fertiliser, energy and other costs simply cannot be sustained by many farmers.”
“Failure by the government to allocate once-off measures for farmers to mitigate this dire situation, will result in many farmers, particularly low-income beef and sheep enterprises, pressed to the brink with some forced out of business.”
“The renewal of the poorly funded Beef Environment and Efficiency Scheme for sucklers farmers, provides no enhanced funding. This is perhaps the clearest indication yet, that the government has no intention of supporting the 80,000 farmers engaged in suckler production (1 million suckler herd population). In reality, it represents a cow cull by stealth or through the back door.”
“In addition, the allocations for the new ACRES environment scheme, are simply not sufficient to provide places for every farmer who is currently participating in an environment scheme. This means many farmers will be excluded or locked out of the scheme.”
“Furthermore, the introduction of a 10 percent concrete levy will have a deep and profound impact on farmers. The levy will undermine farm investment and drive-up the costs of concrete and blocks even further. For instance, this levy will impact upon farmers’ ability to build a slatted tank, slurry or silage storage, grain storage facilities, animal storage units or any necessary building works on farms.”
“The government plan to plough ahead with hiking the carbon tax to €48.50 per tonne in the budget is a crippling blow to farmers.”
“While government politicians spin this tax measure as an incentive for people to reduce carbon emissions, they fail to recognise that most people, including farmers, simply have no credible alternative to their current machinery, car or heating system. The carbon tax is a penalty charge on people going about their daily business. It is blunt and ineffective. This Budgetary hike alone, will increase the price of a tank of motor fuel by €1.50, a 900-litre tank of home heating oil by almost €20 and a bag of coal by almost €1.”
“All in all, this Budget has failed to protect the incomes of Irish farmers. It has failed to provide the necessary and shield against the increasing input costs that our farm families need and deserve,” concluded Deputy Mc Grath.
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