Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association

Politician(s) lobbied: Unknown

Intent: To influence public and political understanding of the role of agriculture and CAP supports by challenging narratives that portray rural Ireland as a fiscal burden, and to reinforce the case for continued policy and financial support for farm incomes in recognition of agriculture’s economic contribution and food production role.

Methods: Unknown

Politician(s) lobbied: Unknown

Intent: To enhance and expand mental health services and wellbeing supports for farmers, including accessible rural counselling services, targeted outreach programmes, and preventative initiatives addressing stress, isolation, and financial pressure in the farming sector.

Methods: Unknown

Politician(s) lobbied: Maria Walsh (MEP), European Parliament

Intent: To strengthen and expand policies supporting generational renewal in farming, including improved succession planning supports, targeted financial incentives, and practical measures to encourage younger people into agriculture and ensure the long-term sustainability of family farms.

Methods: MeetingSubmission

Politician(s) lobbied: Martin Heydon (Minister), Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Intent: To secure increased and ring-fenced funding for the 2026 National Dairy Beef Weighing Scheme to ensure full payment for all eligible calves up to the stated scheme limits, and to guarantee payment certainty in advance of participation so that oversubscription does not result in retrospective payment reductions.

Methods: Email

Politician(s) lobbied: Martin Heydon (Minister), Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Intent: To secure enhanced, targeted and agriculture-specific fuel support measures that more accurately reflect the scale, timing, and intensity of fuel usage in farming and agricultural contracting, and to address cashflow pressures, credit constraints, and input cost inflation threatening the viability of farm production systems.

Methods: Email

Politician(s) lobbied: Martin Heydon (Minister), Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Intent: To ensure that the implementation of the revised TB eradication programme is accompanied by fair and adequate compensation for affected farmers, continued engagement on income supports and hardship measures, and effective delivery of wildlife control actions as part of a balanced, multi-pronged TB strategy that does not place disproportionate burden on cattle farmers.

Methods: Unknown

Politician(s) lobbied: Martin Heydon (Minister), Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Intent: To secure additional, ring-fenced funding to support bluetongue vaccination alongside existing herd health measures, ensuring that farmers are not required to displace other essential vaccinations within the Beef Welfare Scheme, and to review scheme financing so that animal health actions are fully supported without reducing payments or limiting participation.

Methods: Email

Politician(s) lobbied: Martin Heydon (Minister), Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Micheál Martin (An Taoiseach), Department of the Taoiseach; Simon Harris (Minister), Department of Finance; Mairéad Farrell (TD), Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas

Intent: To secure a Government-led emergency response package to address the surge in fuel and fertiliser costs affecting agricultural production, including targeted fiscal relief measures, EU-level intervention on fertiliser supply and pricing, and formal recognition of primary food producers as a priority sector requiring specific supports to maintain food production capacity and supply stability.

Methods: EmailPhone call

Politician(s) lobbied: Claire Kerrane (TD), Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas

Intent: To secure dedicated and increased funding in national and EU agricultural budgets to support “Women in Agriculture” initiatives, including training, leadership development, visibility campaigns, and targeted supports to encourage greater participation and representation of women in the farming sector during the designated Year of Women in Agriculture.

Methods: Phone call

Politician(s) lobbied: Christopher O’Sullivan (Minister of State), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; James Browne (Minister), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; Martin Heydon (Minister), Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Intent: To secure the establishment of a new, additional and ringfenced long-term funding stream to support the implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Law, ensuring that funding is separate from CAP resources and that participation for farmers is genuinely voluntary, financially viable, and supported by clear long-term guarantees.

Methods: Email