Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, and Minister of State with responsibility for Farm Safety, Michael Healy-Rae TD, recently launched the expanded Acceleration of Wear and Tear Allowances for Farm Safety Equipment Scheme.
Minister Heydon said: “The Programme for Government prioritises improvements in farm safety, health and well-being through strengthened supports. I would urge all farmers to consider this opportunity to invest in facilities and equipment which will make their farms safer and more efficient”.
Stressing the importance of continued support for farmers to invest in their safety, health and wellbeing, Minister Healy-Rae said: “The expansion of the list of eligible equipment for accelerated capital allowances will provide further encouragement to farmers to invest in facilities and equipment, which will provide better working conditions and ensure that work can be carried out while minimising the risk of injury or fatality. The number of fatal and non-fatal injuries involving livestock is concerning and highlights the need for farmers to assess the risks when working with livestock and to ensure that facilities are of sufficient standard to enable livestock to be handled and treated safely.”
The Minister for Finance initially announced the expansion of the scheme as part of Budget 2025 with the expanded list of equipment legislated for in Finance Act 2024.
Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, today said: “This scheme of accelerated capital allowances for farm safety equipment and the recently expanded list of eligible equipment shows the commitment of this Government to farm safety. The aim of the scheme is to incentivise the purchase of farm safety equipment, and the replacement of equipment that may be sub-standard. The measure is also designed to assist farmers who have a disability to continue work, with certain adaptive equipment also eligible for the scheme. This scheme will assist farmers in safe proofing their farms and I encourage all farmers to avail of this scheme.”
The expanded scheme provides accelerated capital allowances for a broader range of farm safety equipment. Fixed sheep handling units, cattle crushes and races, calving gates, flood lights, livestock monitors and sliding or roller doors now also qualify for accelerated capital allowances. The accelerated capital allowance scheme complements the 60% grant aid which is available under TAMS3 for safety-related investments. Any grants received for qualifying equipment would be deducted from the qualifying expenditure so only the net cost to the farmer will qualify for accelerated capital allowance scheme. Farm safety investments under TAMS are popular among farmers with the Farm Safety Capital Investment Scheme accounting for 30% of all TAMS3 applications.
The certification process for the accelerated capital allowance scheme for farm safety equipment is administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Revenue. An annual budget of €5 million per annum, excluding VAT, has been allocated for the measure for 2025 and 2026.
Where farmers have received a qualifying certificate, they can avail of capital allowances of 50% per annum to be claimed over an accelerated two-year period for these investments as opposed to the standard period of eight years for plant and machinery. The scheme is available to farmers operating as a sole trade, a company or in partnership. The allowance can be claimed for the chargeable period in which the equipment is first used for the farming trade. The allowance may be claimed on the farmer’s tax return.
For further information on the Accelerated Capital Allowances for the Wear and Tear of Farm Safety Equipment, visit www.gov.ie/farmsafety and https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/income-tax-capital-gains-tax-corporation-tax/part-09/09-02-07.pdf or email acafarmsafetyequipment@agriculture.gov.ie .
