Macra calls for doubling of fuel support to 40c/l as green diesel prices surge

Macra is calling on Government to double the fuel support payment to 40c per litre for all farmers and agricultural contractors, while ensuring that young farmers are prioritised under the extended Fuel Income Support Scheme.

Macra is also calling for the scheme to be reopened to all eligible farmers and contractors, including those who did not apply during the previous round.

While Macra welcomes An Tánaiste Simon Harris’ confirmation that the fuel support scheme will be extended, the organisation is calling for urgent action, with the scheme reopened before the end of September to ensure farmers can access support while fuel prices continue to climb.

Macra President Josephine O’Neill said young farmers must be recognised in the design of the extended scheme.

“We are calling for the fuel support payment to be doubled to 40c per litre and for the scheme to be open to all eligible farmers and contractors. However, young farmers must be prioritised within the scheme given the particular financial pressures they are facing. Young farmers are often operating with tighter cash flow as they establish themselves and build their farm businesses. A rise in the cost of a fundamental input like diesel can have a disproportionate impact on someone who is starting out compared with an established farm business.”

Almost 29,500 farmers and contractors received payments under the first round of the scheme. The previous scheme provided support equivalent to 20c per litre for five months of usage, based on 2025 green diesel consumption.

Macra says the relatively low uptake demonstrates the need to ensure the extended scheme is accessible to a much wider cohort.

“We cannot have a situation where farmers who did not apply during the first round are excluded from accessing support now. The circumstances have changed significantly and the cost of fuel has risen sharply. For some young farmers, the first scheme may not have been considered worthwhile given that the payment was based on just five months of usage at 20c per litre. We need to make sure those farmers are not left behind this time.”
Macra is also calling for the extended scheme to recognise green diesel usage across the full nine months of 2026, rather than limiting support to a five-month period."

With approximately €59 million of the original fuel-support funding understood to remain available, Macra says this funding must now be deployed immediately to support farmers facing sharply higher diesel costs.

Ms O’Neill said the timing of the support is critical, with farmers and agricultural contractors exceptionally busy in recent days making the most of favourable weather to get silage made and slurry spread.

“Government must act quickly. Farmers and agricultural contractors have been exceptionally busy over the past week, making the most of the good weather to get silage made and slurry spread. Anyone on the roads this week will have seen the scale of activity, with tractors, harvesters, silage wagons and bale trailers out across the country. The extension of the slurry spreading deadline gives farmers some additional breathing space, but the pressure on farms has not gone away. Farmers and contractors are putting in long hours to get essential work completed and address fodder deficits, while green diesel prices have risen sharply. This is exactly when fuel costs are being felt most acutely."

Ms O’Neill said Government must now move quickly to ensure the support reaches farmers.
“Government has already allocated funding for fuel support, and that money now needs to reach farmers as quickly as possible. Farmers cannot wait until the Budget for support when the pressure is being felt now. The Government has confirmed that the scheme is being extended – we now need the detail, the funding and the application process put in place urgently. The scheme should be reopened to all eligible farmers and contractors before the end of September, with a 40c per litre rate, young farmers prioritised within the scheme, and support based on green diesel usage throughout 2026