Victor Boyhan calls for reinstatement of land mobility funding
Victor Boyhan addressed the committee about the removal of land mobility funding and the wider problem of generational renewal in farming. He said the previous Minister of Agriculture pulled last year’s land mobility funding, it was not reinstated in the recent pre-budget, and he urged that the service be funded and valued.
Land mobility funding pulled
The speaker said the previous Minister of Agriculture removed last year’s land mobility funding and that it was not reinstated in the most recent pre-budget, leaving the scheme unfunded for two successive years.
Role of the land mobility service
Victor Boyhan described the land mobility service as a 10-year scheme that helps young and older farmers enter and exit farming. He called it a subsidised, accessible match-making service crucial for succession and noted it is widely referenced in media discussions.
Generational renewal and knowledge transfer
He argued that generational renewal is about preserving vital, non‑textbook knowledge held by older farmers — skills learned on the land that cannot easily be replaced. He said schemes for transfer and succession should value and, where appropriate, remunerate that experience, and that tax implications form part of the wider conversation.
Comparisons and funding plea
The speaker pointed to similar services in other countries that secured large funding while saying a request of $100,000 in Ireland was rejected. He described the sector as under strain and said the modest funding ask for the land mobility service was vital and reasonable.
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Well, I'm just going to go back to some of the key issues that you talked about there. But first, Elaine, the land mobility funding pulled. Three texts come in to me there saying, what's Ms. Oulhan talking about? So, you know, I'm conscious also when we're speaking in here that this is a very cozy little room, but there'll be thousands of people looking at this tomorrow night on a ROTUS report, on agri-news feeds, etc. So you might just clarify for us and for those outside this room. So land mobility funding pulled. Pulled by who? When? Who authorised it? And when was that communicated to you? Just to put context on that statement. Yeah, so the Minister of Agriculture, the previous Minister of Agriculture, pulled the funding. When? I'm actually just trying to think of the exact data. It was last year's funding, and we came out on our pre-budget this year looking for it to be reinstated. And it wasn't reinstated? No. OK, I'm just trying to get the context. No, absolutely, I appreciate it. And you made the case to have it reinstated this year? Yes. So that's two years in succession now. OK, so I understand that. OK, because I think that's important to set the context because people are clearly clued in. Yeah, no, no, that's fair. Which is great. And then when you talk about the young farmers again, I fully agree with what you're saying. And, of course, what we're getting in all this debate about generational renewal, succession, transfer, call it what you want, is, of course, we have the very valuable knowledge transfer. We can't underestimate that. And, you know, the proposal is that how you don't become redundant because you're 65 or your retirement. So all the skills and skill sets that an older generation would have never learned out of a textbook, never learned out of an ag college, they're more like he never got an opportunity to do any of that. Many of these guys left school at 11, but they were reared on the land. They spoke of the land. They understood the land. You know the story yourself, William, and there were people of the land. And you can't buy that. You can't impart that knowledge. It's so vast. And I think somewhere along what you're saying, and tell me if I'm wrong, we need to value that and we need to pay for that. And through schemes with transfer, succession, call it to like, the moving on. And then, of course, there's the tax implications of all of this, which raises another issue. And then, of course, there are farmers who have no children, for instance, may not have no nephews and nieces, but yet they're very valuable land assets. And they want to see that success because great acorns grow from, great oak trees grow from little acorns. And so I think that's an important part. And I'm taking away very clearly, I think everyone here is taking very clearly that you're passionate about it, disappointed about the land mobility funding. But just to finish on that, you might say for a second, about the land mobility funding, what does that do? For the punter outsider here. You've made the point very validly. Your government have not funded for two years. Now, tell me why they should fund it or tell the committee and say, what is it doing? I mean, you're clearly leading all this. So can you deal with it? I suppose the land mobility service has been there for the last 10 years. We've been providing opportunities for young farmers and older farmers, I suppose, to enter and exit farming. I suppose what it's widely known as in the media is it's like the Tinder for farmers to match young and old farmers together. I'll check it out later myself. But, like, it's vital because it's a subsidised service. It's so accessible to everybody to utilise. And, like, it baffled me. It honestly baffled me when the funding was removed because, again, we're part of CJA. We went over. There's two other countries that have put in place this land mobility service. And I can say it's nearly the exact same logo they're using. We could have a franchise nearly around Europe at this stage. And they're able to secure millions of funding, while $100,000 is too much to ask for here in Ireland. Like, our sector is on its knees. But we need this funding. It's a very little ask. Any government. We hear you loud and clear. Thanks. Thank you. Thanks. Deputy Ireland.
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