A delegation from ICSA has met with Minister Martin Heydon to discuss the latest developments in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and to outline the association’s key demands for Budget 2026. Speaking after the meeting, ICSA president Sean McNamara said, “ICSA left the Minister in no doubt that the Commission’s proposal to cut the CAP budget by 20% is a complete betrayal of family farms and must be challenged at every level.”
Continuing Mr McNamara said, “What we saw from Brussels this week amounts to nothing short of the dismantling of the CAP in everything but name. Scrapping the two-pillar model, phasing out income supports for older farmers, and shifting the funding burden back to member states is a recipe for disaster. It sends a chilling message that farm incomes, food security, and rural communities no longer matter to the EU elite.”
He said that the proposed CAP cuts would hit low-income beef, sheep, and suckler farms the hardest. “These sectors risk being decimated completely. But the impact goes far beyond farmers – it threatens the very fabric of rural Ireland, undermining local economies, rural communities, and any credible pathway to generational renewal.”
Mr McNamara said he urged Minister Heydon to lead a united national effort to push back against the Commission’s proposals and to ensure that Irish farming is not sacrificed at EU level. “We are at risk losing the very people who produce our food, protect our environment, and hold rural Ireland together. In this context Budget 2026 must send a strong signal of national commitment to safeguarding Irish agriculture. The Government must show it has farmers’ backs.”
ICSA’s Key Budget 2026 Proposals
Sucklers: ICSA is calling for a €300 per cow/calf pair payment, made up of €150 from the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) and €150 from the Beef Welfare Scheme. The number of eligible calves per herd should be raised to 100 to reflect real production levels on family farms.
Sheep: ICSA proposes a combined €35 per ewe payment across the Sheep Improvement and National Sheep Welfare Schemes, with the National Scheme rate increased to at least €23 per ewe.
Beef: ICSA proposes increasing the total payment to €100 per calf, with €80 going to rearers and €20 to breeders, and extending eligibility to 100 calves per herd.
Tillage: ICSA proposes a €1,500/ha Tillage Innovation Payment, open to all farmers trialling legumes, high-protein grains, or other novel crops with feed, bioeconomy, or climate potential.
Nitrates Efficiency Payment: To reward farmers operating at moderate or low stocking rates. ICSA is seeking a new Nitrates Efficiency Payment worth:
- €150/ha for farms stocked at 100–120kg N/ha
- €300/ha for farms stocked below 99kg N/ha
Generational Renewal: ICSA is calling for the urgent creation of a National Succession and Retirement Fund, offering €30,000 per year for 10 years to farmers aged 55+ who enter a structured succession plan.
Caption: Pictured (left to right): ICSA General Secretary Hugh Farrell, ICSA President Sean McNamara, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon, ICSA Suckler Chair Jimmy Cosgrave, ICSA Rural Development Chair Edmond Phelan, ICSA’s representative on the Women in Agriculture Stakeholder Group Mona O’Donoghue Concannon, and ICSA Tillage Chair Patrick Kent.
