Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----by eliminating the cap that limits certain reliefs to those under the age of 67. This would negate the original purpose of the Government's measure, which was to incentivise the early lifetime transfer of land to the next generation and to encourage young farmers to extend their holdings. All this is being done now to cover up for the clear mistake the Government made in the budget. The core issue is that at a time when farm incomes are half the average industrial wage and many farm enterprises are not viable without being expanded, the Government is proposing to triple the level of stamp duty imposed on farmers who are trying to make their holdings viable.

The Minister, Deputy Creed, told us in his post-budget press conference that this increase would not apply to farmland. He said he wanted to "nail this one" and was adamant that "the increase in stamp duty [would] not apply to agricultural land". Did the Minister or his advisers not know what the Minister for Finance was proposing, or did they get it wrong? Fine Gael portrays itself as the farmers' party and has always had that tradition. However, the disregard for rural Ireland in the current Cabinet is so severe that this measure was introduced without any consideration of its consequences for the farming community and without any consultation with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. At a time of low incomes and Brexit pressures, when reduced Common Agricultural Policy payments are coming down the road, is the Government happy to stand over a threefold increase in the level of stamp duty imposed on a farmer who wishes to extend his or her holding to make it viable?

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