The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has held the inaugural meeting of the Farm Contractors Working Group (FCWG).

Established under the leadership of Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon, this new working group represents a recognition of farm contractors as skilled professionals within the agri-food and forestry industries.

The initiative is expected to deliver meaningful benefits to the sector by creating a dedicated forum for engagement, collaboration, and policy development.

The meeting, which took place yesterday (April 20), started with a presentation of the group’s terms of reference, followed by a comprehensive overview of the farm contracting sector.

Participants at the meeting put forward a range of proposals for further consideration.

Key areas identified for future work include:

The establishment of a farm contractors registry;
Targeted financial and structural supports;
Taxation measures;
Inclusion of contractors in the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS);
Employment permit considerations;
Succession planning;
Skills development and training;
Enhanced safety training for contractors.

Ann Gleeson Hanrahan, managing director of the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) said that the formation of this working group “opens the door to ongoing dialogue on supports and opportunities for the sector, ensuring that farm contractors are fully recognised and supported in their vital role within Ireland’s agricultural and forestry landscape”.

FCI

Last week, FCI national chairperson, Norman Egar said the organisation was pleased to see, "following many years of informative meetings with various governments, that the role of the agricultural and forestry contractor has been recognised by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine and the entire Irish agricultural sector".

“We now look forward to the creation of a national registry of agricultural and forestry contractors as we begin the work of the first ever Farm Contractor Working Group established by DAFM.”