A hatful of rabbits
Can we expect some rabbits to be pulled out of Paschal and Michael’s budget hat next October to counteract The Law of Unintended Consequences in relation to cow banding and worries about derogation reductions?
The surge in demand for land on foot of expectations of lower stocking rates being forced on livestock farmers has sent leasing prices through the roof. Will the Government interfere with the tax reliefs around long-term leasing in order to correct an ill-thought-out emissions reduction strategy? The success of those tax reliefs in encouraging long-term leasing needs no embellishment. Support for long-term leasing of land effectively killed off the 11-month conacre system and delivered improvements in soil fertility and productivity, while also encouraging generational transfer, among a range of benefits. Is there a serious intention to damage one of the most successful land-use reform measures enacted in the past 50 years?