The latest accounts from the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) for the year to the end of March 2025 show a significant improvement from the previous period, with overall surplus for the year of €1.55m, an almost €2m turnaround from the 12 months to March, which saw an overall deficit of €429,601.

The organisation also ran a surplus on its day-to-day operations of €830,966 in the year, up from an operating deficit of €895,213 the previous year.

Income was €1.53m higher at €17.67m and expenditure was down by almost €200,000 to €16.85m.

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The increase in income was almost entirely driven by membership contributions, which rose by €1.38m to €7.73m.

On 1 March 2024, the IFA increased membership fees by €25 for an individual member, a move which is reflected in the increased income.

European Involvement Fund levies were €267,151 higher at €3.355m and net income from fixed asset investments increased slightly to €860,000.

Phone and broadband

The accounts show income from broadband and phone services largely unchanged at €5.26m, while expenses related to IFA Telecom increased to €5.28m, showing a small loss on that operation.

On the costs side, staff costs rose by less than 2% to €6.23m, while the cost of running the Brussels office increased by €100,000 to €680,044. Included in staff costs were the €88,601 salary for president Francie Gorman and €28,030 for deputy president Alice Doyle.

The salaries of the president and deputy president are capped at €140,000 and €40,000 respectively, with deductions made from that total for any directors’ fees payable to them by outside bodies that came as a consequence of their IFA office.

The director general of the IFA’s total remuneration including salary contribution was €260,818, a payment in line with the secretary general level two in the civil service.

The undefined “other expenditure” line item in the accounts was over half a million euro lower at €359,445.

Shares

The organisation had financial investments of €18.4m on 31 March 2025, almost entirely made up of shares in FBD and Farmer Business Developments plc.

During the year, the IFA added €943,891 of financial assets, with the value of those assets increasing by a further €952,181.

Since the end of March 2025, the value of FBD shares has increased by 7% and that company has paid an interim dividend, suggest a further increase in the value of financial assets in the current year.

The IFA accounts includes a provision for tax liabilities of €3.025m, entirely made up of the capital gains tax cost, which would arise if the organisation was to sell its financial assets.