FCI calls for Full Allocation of €100 Million Fuel Support to remain within the Agricultural Sector

The Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland (FCI) has written to the Government to ensure that the full allocation of the €100 million originally allocated to support the agricultural and forestry contracting sector is ring-fenced for those sectors and used for its intended purpose.

With green diesel prices continuing to remain at elevated levels, FCI believes that unspent funding from the Fuel Income Support Scheme should be used to extend the scheme. Such an approach would ensure that the funding approved by Government is utilised for its intended purpose: to support the sectors experiencing the greatest cost pressure from the fuel crisis.

FCI have also requested for an extension of the support measures introduced in March and April of this year, as the exceptional cost pressures which led to their introduction have not abated and, in the case of agricultural diesel, have intensified.

FCI National Chair Norman Egar said: "Green diesel prices remain substantially higher than historic norms, placing continued financial pressure on farm and forestry contractors across the country; the need for targeted fuel support has not diminished, if anything it has increased.”

"Contractors play a vital role in supporting Ireland's farming and forestry sectors. As fuel prices continue to fluctuate, contractors will require ongoing support to cope with these exceptional operating costs” he added.

"Any unspent funding from the Fuel Income Support Scheme should be invested in the sectors it originally targeted, by extending the scheme. Retaining the full allocation within the sector would provide much-needed certainty during a period of continued volatility in agri-diesel prices” he concluded.