Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
781. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the specific supports available, or that will be made available, to smaller family farms and hill/sheep farmers who face disproportionate impacts from rising fertiliser costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36828/26]
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The current situation in the Middle East is putting upward pressure on fertiliser prices. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) reports monthly on the Agricultural Input Price Index, which tracks the prices paid by farmers for purchases of goods and services. The latest data shows that fertiliser prices increased by 12% in the month of March 2026, which is an increase of 17.3% compared to March 2025.
However, Irish fertiliser importers engaged in advance buying of fertilisers in the last quarter of 2025, while many farmers also forward-purchased fertiliser. Therefore, the estimated additional cost on a full-year basis is anticipated to be lower than that implied by the current increased market prices.
The table below shows the latest results available on the average cost of fertiliser per farm represented in the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS), for the year 2024, with sheep relatively lower than the overall average.
|
NFS 2024 |
Dairy |
Cattle Rearing |
Cattle Other |
Sheep |
Tillage |
Overall |
|
Average Fertiliser Costs per Farm (€) |
17,865 |
2,349 |
3,222 |
2,860 |
17,099 |
6,653 |
It is not currently possible to report the additional cost of recent price increases by farm type. This would vary at farm level and depend on many factors such as the extent to which fertiliser was purchased in advance of the conflict, whether improved-use efficiency measures are adopted, and whether the volume of fertiliser purchased reduces in response to higher prices.
In Budget 2026, I secured an allocation of €131m for the livestock sector, which will ensure the continuation of existing dedicated supports, including those worth €42m to sheep farmers in 2026.
In addition, there are many other multi-annual schemes available under the current CSP, which is worth €9.8 billion to farmers and rural communities between 2023 and 2027. These include basic income payments as well as agri-environment, investment and organic farming schemes, which are particularly significant for sheep farmer incomes.
The recent announcement of a comprehensive €100m Fuel Subsidy Support Scheme to assist farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers facing unprecedented increases in fuel costs should help to mitigate short-term impacts in those sectors.
The EU Action Plan on Fertiliser will be published this week. My Department will continue to monitor the impact on input costs from the conflict in the Middle East, including the fertiliser market.
