A date has been set for the first meeting of the new Farm Contracting Working Group.

Setting up the Farm Contracting Working Group was part of commitments under the Programme for Government. It will be tasked with examining training, support and taxation measures to bolster the farm contracting sector in Ireland.

It is understood that April 20 has been selected as the date for the first meeting.

It is also understood that, following a meeting between the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors (FCI) and Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris last week, it was agreed that the Department of Finance would be represented on the group.

The new working group will be chaired by a representative from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and will comprise representatives from relevant bodies in the farm and forestry contracting sector.

The FCI has welcomed the progress on setting up the group, with the association's managing director Ann Gleeson Hanrahan saying: "This is a significant milestone for the Irish agricultural and forestry contractor sector, and a reward for the time and effort invested in developing FCI to this level since 2012.

"We are now recognised within government as an official organisation," Hanrahan added.

"FCI will continue to work on behalf of agricultural and forestry contractors to facilitate discussion among relevant stakeholders to consider training, support and taxation measures with a view to supporting agricultural and forestry contractors."

Hanrahan said the working group will help the FCI to address issues that the sector faces, while also "exploiting opportunities that may exist" through wider use of agricultural and forestry contractor services "to support a sustainable agriculture and forestry sector".

Also commenting on the new working group, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon said: "Setting up a group like this was an objective and ambition of mine in the Programme for Government.

"These stakeholders are more important than ever now given the current challenges around the Iran conflict.

"It's important to address the current issues facing the services to farmers who produce our very valuable agri-food exports which are such a huge part of our economy," the minister added.