Debate contribution: Inheritance Tax Changes: Impact on Family Farms

Debate contribution by Mr Jonathan Buckley on 11 February 2025.

MLA

Mr Jonathan Buckley

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

11 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Inheritance Tax Changes: Impact on Family Farms

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4793724

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the debate as another opportunity for the House to talk about family farming and the hugely positive impact that farming has had on the Northern Ireland landscape since its inception. Anybody who follows the debate closely will realise that you cannot escape the issue. In whatever farming sector you are in, it is at the top of everybody's conversation list. 'Farming Life' reported — Mr McGlone, the Member for Mid Ulster, highlighted it — that Northern Ireland alone could provide between 40% and 85% of the total number of inheritance tax cases. This has the potential to be devastating for an industry that is already facing huge challenges and anti-agriculture policies.

In Northern Ireland in particular, high land valuation, coupled with low profitability, means that farmers' very fight for survival focuses on overturning that devastating tax.

Northern Ireland farmers face a double whammy. The motion refers to:

"ensuring the protection and sustainability of family farms."

On the one hand, farmers have a Labour Government that are intent on pursuing a scorched earth policy through the family farm tax — a death tax that is penalising farmers and restricting the potential for young farmers to come into the trade — while, on the other hand, they have an Alliance Minister of Agriculture, who, in my opinion and that of most farmers, is the most anti-agriculture Minister of Agriculture in the history of the Northern Ireland state. I see Alliance Party Members shaking their heads, but that fact is not lost on the rural community. The Minister, Andrew Muir, is more interested in and concerned about cows breaking wind than farmers breaking even. That is the reality. He cannot hide. Fancy, sympathetic words in the Chamber to pat farmers on the back will not do. He must demonstrate through action that he is prepared to stand up for the farmer. After the farmers' protest in the Eikon centre in Lagan Valley, I was asked what it would achieve. I said in the House that we might see parties "finding reverse gear", getting back on the agriculture community's side and bringing forward policies to promote sustainable, long-term family farm viability.

Absolutely.

The Member's analysis is spot on. That is the damage that policy intent can have. When I talked to young farmers about where parties stand on supporting agriculture, I started to see a change in this place. It is a positive change, which I welcome. I welcome the fact that Sinn Féin tabled the motion. I recognise its intent and purpose, which is to protect agriculture and family farming. I think that every Member will vote for it. Does that not stand in stark contrast, however, to the Minister's setting out his five achievements of the past year and his failing to mention the £50 million a year that is being spent on tackling and eradicating — not eradicating, sorry, only tackling — TB? Some 90,000 cows have been culled in the past five years, family farms are being destroyed, farms' viability is going out of the window and farmers are under huge pressure, but there is no mention of that from the Minister. It is the same with ammonia policy. Many family farms want to expand, become sustainable and potentially become more environmentally friendly, but, because of Andrew Muir and the Alliance Party's anti-agriculture policies, they cannot. We hear warm words from them today about how supportive they are of the farmer, but the farmer is not stupid. The farmer can see through their warm words. The Alliance Party in particular is in for a huge awakening to the anger on the issue. The Minister's fifth achievement was his vision for sustainable agriculture. Under his vision, however, there will be no agriculture. That is why the inheritance farm tax policy, coupled with the anti-agriculture policies promoted by the Alliance Party and others, must find reverse gear. What did the Alliance Party do last week? It had the opportunity to show its support for the farmer, but the Minister attempted to place even more bureaucracy on the farmer by increasing fines. The Assembly said no, Minister. Sinn Féin, the DUP, the Ulster Unionists, the TUV and independents went through the No Lobby to stop you in your tracks. Despite that, we still face the prospect of anti-agriculture policies from this House and from Westminster, and I say that it is time to stop. I congratulate the farmers who have been putting up a noble protest and ask them to continue.

750 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:00 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification