Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 26 October 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Vision for the Future of Irish Farming: Macra na Feirme

Mr. John Keane:

When we take an average throughout Ireland of what the average land rental rate or land lease rate is, it is an awful lot less than that in some areas where there is high competition for land. The average is a lower rate than what farmers are paying in those areas. It is worked on the basis that the national average will be lower than where there are pressure zones, whether we want to call those rent pressure zones, or lease pressure zones in an agricultural context. That is comparable with what they are for. They are offered access to land at a lower rate in a first refusal-type system.

There is also support through tax rebates for those young farmers who are leasing land to allow them to claim back something on the cost of the leasing of the land. This creates preferential access for young farmers, if we want to call it that. On the other side of things, it also has tax rebate or tax implications for young farmers to avail of through the course of their farming of the land. It is a double benefit for them. The ring-fencing of access to land is one of the key things because young farmers become one of the first people to have access to it. Does Mr. Hanrahan want to add anything to that?

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