Increased TB payments, significantly higher organic scheme outlay, tillage schemes and a rise in salaries all drove spending at the Department of Agriculture to €2.22bn in 2025.
In the originally announced spending plan for the Department’s budget for 2025, an allocation of €73.5m was made towards bovine TB and brucellosis eradication. By the end of 2025, that figure had climbed to €122.7m.
The Department explained this was “due to the increased levels of bovine TB in Ireland and the increased value of the national herd in 2025”.
Increases
Spending on the Organic Farming Scheme increased by €37m to €60.2m, while the decision to pay €100/ha to the tillage sector led to spending of €32.2m, compared to zero in 2024.
Pay costs rose by €15m to €267m. 2,366 employees at the Department earned less that €60,000 in 2025, with 1,600 earning more than that amount.
The Comptroller and Auditor General noted that the Department agreed a VAT settlement with Revenue of €3m, with just over €800,000 of that being made up of interest and fees. There was also a payment of €716,000 made to Revenue regarding PAYE liabilities between 2021 and 2024.
The underpayment arose through the failure to make benefit in kind deductions from payroll. The Department said it would not seek to recover the PAYE from employees as it did not have the necessary measures in place during the relevant period to make the deductions.
The Department also had non-compliant spending of €2.25m during the year due to contracts extending beyond relevant thresholds, contracts being rolled over and contracts without ex-ante approval prior to non-competitive procurement.
Funding sources
Department of Agriculture spending is funded by a mixture of exchequer funds, EU money and funds the Department raises itself through provision of services.
Funding from the exchequer rose by €155m to €1.8bn in 2025, while EU and own funds were €58m lower at €418.3m.
Despite the increased spending during the year, the Department returned €31.8m in unspent funding to the exchequer at the end of the year.
