Farm Family Council Report July 2025

Activity since last National Council

• There have been 10 farm fatalities officially recorded by HSA to date. To keep up to date on farm fatalities visit www.hsa.ie.
• Farm Safety Week is taking place from the 21^st to 25^th of July 2025. IFA will be running a series of information posts on farm safety across social media channels, aiming to raise awareness and share practical tips with the farming community. 
• IFA has been awarded funding of €250,000 from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to carry out the Farmer Health Check Project 2025.
  • The project is in partnership with Croi (Heart and Stroke Charity).
  • IFA must carry out 2,000 health checks in 33 locations. 
  • Further details will be available on www.ifa.ie
• Embrace Farm Remembrance Service took place on Sunday 29^th of June at 2pm in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. A notable event in the farming calendar, acknowledging the suffering of those who have survived farm accidents and providing a place for farm families to remember loved ones who have died suddenly.
  • Embrace Farm offer counselling services beyond farm accidents, if anyone wishes to contact them, please contact 085 770 9966.
• FBD to support farmers, and FBD’s Farm insurance product includes a fully confidential independent counselling helpline – Tel 1800 670 407. This is available:
  • 24 hours a day 7 days a week. 
  • To the policyholder(s) & immediate family who permanently live with them

and to the farmers employees 

• This service is available for any issue and not restricted to farming issues. 
• IFA attended Farm Safety Foundation Conference in Belfast. 
• IFA attended RSA Annual Road Safety Conference.
• IFA attended the National Rural Safety Forum meeting.
• IFA has requested to meet with RSA to discuss RSA’s proposals on tractor driving testing. 
• IFA, in partnership with HSE, held an information webinar for farmers on the Fair Deal scheme. The webinar provided details on how the Fair Deal scheme works, the 3year cap on farm assets, criteria for family successor and planning for nursing home care while protecting the family farm.
• The webinar was chaired by Teresa Roche, Chair of IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Committee.
• Ultan Hynes, Head of Service, Nursing Homes Support Scheme with the HSE provided an overview of the scheme.
• Link to recording can be found at www.ifa.ie/fairdeal
• Point to Note: If you are applying for Fair Deal Application, and you wish to apply for the 3-year cap, you must fill out part 6 of the application form. If you do not fill out this section, you have not applied to have the value of your farm/business drop out of the assessment after 3 years in care. 
• IFA attended the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture Food and the Marine to discuss Farmer Mental Health and Wellbeing. 
• IFA Farm Family & Social Affairs Committee Chair, Teresa Roche, travelled to Sweden to FLIARA Community of Practice event. 
• IFA attended Copa-Cogeca Women’s Committee meeting online. 
• Carer’s Allowance weekly income disregard has increased by €175 to €625 per week for single carers, and by €350 to €1,250 per week for couple. 
• SUSI has opened for applications for students grant funding for the 2025/26 academic year. Closing date for renewal grant application is the 10^th July 2025.Budget 2025 provided significant improvements to existing supports under the Student Grant Scheme. From September 2025 eligible students will benefit from:
• The Special Rate of Maintenance grant income threshold will increase from €26,200 to €27,400.
• Income thresholds for maintenance grants for PLC, full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students will increase by 15%. 
• Income thresholds for the full-time undergraduate Student Contribution will also increase by 15%.
• The Postgraduate Fee Contribution income threshold will increase to €64,315.

Any EU/COPA developments

• The 8th edition of Copa-Cogeca’s Innovation Award for Women Farmers is entitled “Women making waves in sustainable water systems”.
• In 2025, Copa-Cogeca wishes to recognise and showcase the critical contributions of women in addressing water-related challenges, aiming to celebrate and support groundbreaking solutions developed by women farmers and producers to enhance water efficiency, conservation, and accessibility in farming communities.
• All applications should be sent to [email protected] no later than the 10th July 2025.

Upcoming issues

• IFA Farm Family & Social Affairs Committee will meet in the Farm Centre on 3^rd September 2025.