Payments are due to issue in the coming weeks to eligible applicants under the Succession Planning Advice Grant.

The Succession Planning Advice Grant was launched by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in September 2023 to assist farmers in obtaining advice regarding succession planning from accredited professionals.

The grant is to encourage and support farmers aged 60 years and above to seek succession planning advice by contributing up to 50% of vouched legal, accounting and advisory costs, subject to a maximum payment of €1,500.

Grant

To qualify for this grant, you must be:

A farmer aged 60 years and above who is currently not in a succession partnership;
Farming at least a minimum of 3ha of land at the time of the application;
Farming for a minimum of two years prior to application.

While applications can be submitted all year round, payments are made in tranches.

Tranche 3 opened for applications on January 1, 2025 and closed on November 30.

There were 253 applications made under tranche 3, of which 200 applicants were eligible, a DAFM spokesperson told Agriland.

Payments issue for each tranche in quarter one of the following year until the end of the current CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

"Payment is on track for delivery in line with commitments for Q1 this year, when a total of €262,695.32 is anticipated for issue," the spokesperson said.

This year’s application period opened on January 1, 2026 and will close on November 30. This is tranche four of the scheme.

Farm succession

This grant is a "practical initiative reflective of the government’s prioritisation in the programme for government of 'supporting inter-generational farm succession'", the DAFM spokesperson said.  

"Food Vision 2030, our shared strategy for the agri-food sector, states that generational renewal in farming is critically important to ensure the future viability and social sustainability of the Irish agri-food sector and of rural Ireland."

In relation to future supports for generational renewal, DAFM added: "The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2027 is at an early stage of development, with draft regulations still under discussion at European Council level.

"Future interventions will be selected by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with consideration given to the final approved regulations and in consultation with national stakeholders through the platform of the CAP Consultative Committee."