ICSA president Sean McNamara has said he is strongly opposed to the imposition of Universal Social Charge (USC) and PRSI on payments made to farmers under the Climate Action Performance Payment (CAPP). "The CAPP was introduced to compensate ash forest owners who have suffered significant losses due to the spread of ash dieback disease and are now undertaking the difficult and costly work of removing diseased trees and replanting their forests. This compensation should not be taxed," he said.

"Farmers and forest owners did not cause this devastating disease, yet they are now being tasked with the challenging process of managing it through removal and replanting efforts. The CAPP was designed specifically to support these individuals, who are working to eradicate an ecological threat they did not introduce. It is grossly unfair to treat these compensatory payments as taxable income."

 The CAPP is worth €5,000/ha and is open to all ash forest owners who have previously joined a Reconstitution Ash Dieback Scheme. The Ash Dieback Task Force has confirmed that all CAPP payments would be subject to USC rates ranging from 0.5% to 8%, depending on income, and a 4% PRSI levy which must be paid by farmers as part of the annual tax bill.

 While the Department of Agriculture has defended these taxes as standard practice across all forestry payments, Mr McNamara said he disagreed with this stance. "These payments were initiated to offset some of the losses incurred by farmers and forest owners due to ash dieback. It is neither just nor reasonable to subject these compensation payments to the same tax rules as regular forestry income."

 Mr McNamara said he is calling on the government to exempt CAPP payments from USC and PRSI. "These farmers and forest owners are going to considerable effort to eliminate a disease that threatens not only their livelihood but the health of our forests. It is time for the government to step up and support them in a fair and meaningful way, not burden them with unfair taxes."