Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I attended the annual conference of the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors of Ireland a couple of months ago. The contractors comprise an important part of our farming infrastructure and are under considerable pressure given the amount of work ahead – work that was not possible to do in recent weeks.

Generally, farm businesses are exempt from the carbon tax. There is a rebate system in place. Farm and forestry contractors are not exempt and the carbon tax does apply to them. The Government has no plans to adjust the tax or make any budgetary adjustments in this regard but it is certainly working hard to support the farming community and the sector.

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