There has been a mixed reaction among the various farming organisations to to Tuesday’s Budget, where the bulk of funding for the ag sector, €157 million, is to go towards measures to address TB.

The Department’s new Bovine TB Action Plan was published just over a month ago, revealing that herd incidence affected over 6,000 farms in Ireland last year.

There has been a huge increase in incidences since 2023, with lost milk revenue of about 145 million litres in 2024.

Furthermore, the cost of running the eradication programme last year was over €100 million.

On top of this, farmers contributed €8 million in levies as well as paying for their annual test.

Tuesday’s Budget also included €7.4 million to Bord Isacaigh Mhara for sustainability measures, news that was roundly condemned by both the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association (IFPEA), and the National Inshore Fisherman’s Association (NIFA).

The NIFA claimed that the industry was ‘feeling abandoned’, comparing the allocation to the €65.4 million to TV channel TG4, and the €10.7 million in extra funding for Sport Ireland.

The IFPEA were equally critical, claiming that the government has ‘ignored the fishing and processing sectors at a time when assistance was most needed for the 17,000 people who depend on fishing for employment’.

Elsewhere, in a budget described as ‘decidedly underwhelming’ by the IFA, a further €20 million was announced for the continuation of the National Sheep Welfare Scheme, which helps about 17,000 farmers.

There is also an increase of €20 million in funding for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), which supports 53,800 farmers at the moment, to a total of €280 million in 2026.

The tillage sector will receive at least €50 million, however, IFA President Francie Gorman downplayed the impact this would have on farmers.

‘The tillage sector is going through a major crisis. The announcement today will go some way towards providing support to growers, but it will not be near enough to alleviate the serious crisis in the sector’.

Tuesday’s Budget was also criticised by Macra President Josephine O’Neill, who said that for the third consecutive Budget, ‘we have seen no clear commitment to supporting young farmers or facilitating farm succession’.

Stressing that ‘young people want to farm’, Ms O’Neill claimed that young people are being met with ‘financial barriers, bureaucratic delays, and a lack of political will’.

‘This government is failing to recognise that without young people entering the sector, there is no future for Irish farming’.

A total of €2.3 billion was allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) for 2026, up from €2.1 billion in 2025’s Budget.