Deering welcomes proposed lifting of age cap for relief on interfamily farm transfers

The proposed removal of an age cap for interfamily farm relief is a great boost for farmers, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, Carlow-Kilkenny TD Pat Deering, said that in advance of the Finance Bill being published on Thursday (tomorrow), he welcomes the early indications that a possible age cap on consanguinity relief will not be part of the proposed legislation.

“I have been working very hard on this issue with my colleagues, the Finance and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed. I’m delighted to see the prospect of the current relief scheme being applied to all ages for a further three years.

“Thanks to the good work by the Fine Gael Ministers, it is now expected that it will be possible for all gifts and sales of farm holdings to closely related family members, who do not qualify for the 100% relief allowable under the under the Young Trained Farmer scheme, to benefit from consanguinity relief at a stamp duty rate of 1%,” Deputy Deering said.

“Farming like every other industry and business in Ireland faces many challenges – both internal and external. There are many challenges to farmers across the country that we must best prepare for. And that is exactly what Fine Gael is doing.

“For instance, this week alone we had the devastation caused by Storm Ophelia to farmlands and holdings across the country. Natural events such as these can prove very costly in terms of livestock, equipment and structures.

“Fine Gael are here to support and assist farmers. This can be seen in our Brexit preparations as thanks to country’s farmers we have one of the best export businesses in the world but must prepare accordingly for future events.

“This week’s developments in relation to consanguinity relief is further good news for our farmers,” Deputy Deering said.

ENDS