Agriculture Budget Cuts

road_high

REPS payment rates are to be cut in the budget. Just read it on the summary document. No mention of specific rate cuts, just overall millions in savings.
Good the scheme is still there at least and not suspended. Which makes sense seen as funding 55% EU funds.

Also Fallen Animal Scheme is suspended.

Ms. Ka

was expecting them to suspend REPS entirely so am very surprised. Would like to find out what the cuts are...........but no one is talking about agriculture and the budget..

road_high

Ms. Ka wrote: »

was expecting them to suspend REPS entirely so am very surprised. Would like to find out what the cuts are...........but no one is talking about agriculture and the budget..

Wouldn't make sense (to my mind anyhow). For every €45 the govt here put in, they get €55 back to fund REPS. The effect on farm incomes and rural economy would be immense if suspended.
We need that money in the country now more than ever to keep jobs and cash flowing. Particularly in Rural Ireland.

road_high

IFA press release says 17% cut in the rates....

djmc

Is it just reps 4 or is reps 3 cut also
I would think knackery charges will rise over fallen animal scheme

road_high

djmc wrote: »

Is it just reps 4 or is reps 3 cut also
I would think knackery charges will rise over fallen animal scheme

Says REPS 4 just on the IFA website. But it wouldn't surprise me. The majority of farmers in REPS are still in REPS 3 I think still so the savings would be greater.

Ms. Ka

mfitzy wrote: »

Wouldn't make sense (to my mind anyhow). For every €45 the govt here put in, they get €55 back to fund REPS. The effect on farm incomes and rural economy would be immense if suspended.
We need that money in the country now more than ever to keep jobs and cash flowing. Particularly in Rural Ireland.

It wouldnt make sense to get rid of it especially with people returning to farming fulltime again but who says logic has ever being involved in political decisions?
Well if its only REPS 4 affected with 17% drop then it might stop farmers jumping from REPS3 to 4 before their 5 years are up. It will also hopefully give the governemnt time to sort out the EREPS system so there isnt the delay in payments like there has been.

Its also kept REPS planners in jobs too....

road_high

Ms. Ka wrote: »

It wouldnt make sense to get rid of it especially with people returning to farming fulltime again but who says logic has ever being involved in political decisions?
Well if its only REPS 4 affected with 17% drop then it might stop farmers jumping from REPS3 to 4 before their 5 years are up. It will also hopefully give the governemnt time to sort out the EREPS system so there isnt the delay in payments like there has been.

Its also kept REPS planners in jobs too....

The net inflow of funds from the EU is significant so getting rid of REPS would not make any sense to me.
Yes and that would ahve only meant even more people on the dole that wouldn't have to be there..

alleyb

It's a sad day if reps is cut by 17%. every one knows most farmers would have returned that money into the economy in some way .Now all the government are doing is driving farmers out of reps and back to more intensive systems or onto the dole.

snowman707

alleyb wrote: »

It's a sad day if reps is cut by 17%. every one knows most farmers would have returned that money into the economy in some way .Now all the government are doing is driving farmers out of reps and back to more intensive systems or onto the dole.

+1

We had hoped that that R4 would help to balance out the drop in milk prices for a few years. With the 17% cut it is a no go.

We had hoped to start renovating an old farm house we have on an out farm, my son had hoped to do a lot of the work himself, but we would also have hired some skilled labour, electrican, carpenter etc. we are now reconsidering & putting it on hold for now.

This Government is doing Sweet F*** All to create jobs or give an initiative for people to do same.

The income levy on Gross earnings is another example, likewise we thought about a general purpose shed on the home farm, again put on hold more jobs lost more lost revenue


Rant over tea finished, off to top up the lamb creep feeders. !!

Bitten & Hisses

As a part-time farmer, the income levy on gross income is going to hurt bigtime, as I tend to re-invest any money from the farm back into facilitites and so on. Just wondering if anyone here has thought of going the limited company route to avoid the levy?

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alleyb wrote: »

It's a sad day if reps is cut by 17%. every one knows most farmers would have returned that money into the economy in some way .Now all the government are doing is driving farmers out of reps and back to more intensive systems or onto the dole.

I agree, less incentive for the big guys to join REPS now than ever. They'll end up having to do more options in REPS and get paid less money.
Seen as farmers are only getting paid REPS 3 money now, they should have to do REPS 3 levels of work imo.

road_high

Of course that's probably what they want too, less people availing of the scheme.
They cut REPS, something that stimulates spending in the (particularly rural) economy and creates jobs, yet no cut in Social Welfare (where you pay people to do nothing) and spending 21 Billion on it!! Sheer madness...

irish_bob

mfitzy wrote: »

Of course that's probably what they want too, less people availing of the scheme.
They cut REPS, something that stimulates spending in the (particularly rural) economy and creates jobs, yet no cut in Social Welfare (where you pay people to do nothing) and spending 21 Billion on it!! Sheer madness...

this is what happens when you have the ultimate populist party in charge

very soon , the wellfare class will greatly exceed the farming class

when it comes to fianna fail , a lifer on the doles vote is just as valuable as that of a salt of the earth hard working farmer
its a numbers game

alleyb

They can cut reps 4 but if they want , but the ultimate government dream is to scrap it alltogether and introduce a scheme where the farmers are under control and loads and loads of department staff are busy keeping an eye on them . oops sorry, yes we have it with the nitrates directive. we'll probably soon be required to do a farm version of the builders safe pass. where we'll pay a large fee for a one day course in how to open a bag of fert. followed by a seperate licence and course to operate every implement in the yard.

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irish_bob wrote: »

very soon , the wellfare class will greatly exceed the farming class

I think that day has well and truly arrived unfortunately.

irish_bob

alleyb wrote: »

They can cut reps 4 but if they want , but the ultimate government dream is to scrap it alltogether and introduce a scheme where the farmers are under control and loads and loads of department staff are busy keeping an eye on them . oops sorry, yes we have it with the nitrates directive. we'll probably soon be required to do a farm version of the builders safe pass. where we'll pay a large fee for a one day course in how to open a bag of fert. followed by a seperate licence and course to operate every implement in the yard.

nitrates directive , spot checks , inspections in general , exist primarily to keep civil servants at the dept of ag in jobs

slightly off topic but last year in the run up to the lisbon vote , manny farmers said to me they blamed europe for the amount of beauracracy involved in farming nowadays , i told them that even ireland were to exit the EU , the beauracracy would remain as the those at the dept of ag werent going to be let join the private sector

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irish_bob wrote: »

nitrates directive , spot checks , inspections in general , exist primarily to keep civil servants at the dept of ag in jobs

slightly off topic but last year in the run up to the lisbon vote , manny farmers said to me they blamed europe for the amount of beauracracy involved in farming nowadays , i told them that even ireland were to exit the EU , the beauracracy would remain as the those at the dept of ag werent going to be let join the private sector

My dad being one of those that voted No. Too much bureacracy from Brussels. You'd swear farmers were dealing heroin the way they regulate their slurry storage and fertilser use!

It's the way the Dept interprate the rules I think too, to the letter of the law.

alleyb

welfare state here, most of us who work 6-7 days a week and who's rest time consists of planning an thinking of work are now carrying a nation. businesses are under savage pressure and the few as usual are carrying the many. pre-lim tax will be very low but by the finance dept. figures this has happened it'll be too late. ok i'm now going to stop whinging and look at htweather forcast after a lovely easter, nnnnnnoooooooo another wet week, ah well back 2 hardship for the sake of the nation