After what looked like a possible break due to a lack of funding, the Heritage Council recently announced that €750,000 had been secured to support the hugely popular Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme for 2026.
The Heritage Council, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, scheme – whose principal objective is to ensure that traditional farm buildings and other related structures that “contribute to the character of the landscape and are of significant heritage value” are conserved in active agricultural use.
These other related structures refer to items such as walls, cobbled yard surfaces, walled orchards, dung steads, millraces, gate pillars and gates.
Who is eligible to apply?
The scheme is open to farmers in the Republic of Ireland participating in and accepted into one of the following Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine schemes:
1. Approved participants in ACRES.2. Approved participants in the Organic Farming Scheme.3. Applicants must be the owner of the building/other related structure for which funding is sought or acting with the permission of the owner (in which case the owner must provide consent).What works are funded
The grant supports the conservation of traditional farm outbuildings, including roofs, walls, structural repairs, windows, and doors, as well the repair of other traditional farming structures, such as walls, gate pillars and gates, walled orchards, cobbled yards and masonry dung steads. The Heritage Council is encouraging farmers with these other items to apply for grant aid in 2026.
The ethos of the Traditional Farm Building Scheme is that minimal intervention is applied, ie carrying out necessary repair work in an unintrusive manner to fix what is wrong, but not setting out to do too much work.
The grant is not for farm buildings alone, with other features such as the cobbled yard pictured eligible.
The Heritage Council have highlighted that works which are, in their opinion, restoration works (as opposed to repair), are very unlikely to be supported with grant aid.
Buildings which are deemed eligible for the grant are:
Traditional farm buildings constructed before 1960 for a use associated with agriculture, and built using traditional methods and materials of the time, such as timber, brick, stone, earth, slate or thatch and which were, or still are, used for an agricultural purpose. Other traditional buildings only where it is clearly demonstrated they are in long established active agricultural use. Reinstatement of previously existing features which were removed (such as a building which has lost its roof) will only be considered where the Heritage Council deems exceptional circumstances apply and if there is strong evidence, eg old photographs, of their former appearance and is necessary and they complete an otherwise intact environment. The buildings should be in fair condition. If in poor condition they must be repairable and have surviving materials that contribute to their characterCompetition for grant aid is set to be stiff, with the Heritage Council stating that they expect 40 projects can be supported, with the hopes being to support more than 40 because with part of the €750,000 ringfenced for the repair of these other related farm structures which are smaller projects.
Grant amount
Grant amounts vary between €4,000 and €30,000. The Heritage Council will make all grant payments on this grant scheme on behalf of The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. A grant award will not be for more than 75% of the cost of the works with a maximum available grant of €30,000. However, not all work will be aided at 75%. An information webinar will be hosted on Friday at 12 noon (17 April) with information on how to register available on the Heritage Council’s website.
It’s important to remember that the buildings for which grant aid is sought for must remain in agricultural use. We have been lucky enough to feature several fine restorations in the Irish Farmers Journal over the last number of years which have been brought back into working condition, primarily as storage barns or for calving/lambing.
Grant aid will not be given for converting buildings for non-agricultural use, such as accommodation.
After what looked like a possible break due to a lack of funding, the Heritage Council recently announced that €750,000 had been secured to support the hugely popular Traditional Farm Buildings Scheme for 2026.
The Heritage Council, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, scheme – whose principal objective is to ensure that traditional farm buildings and other related structures that “contribute to the character of the landscape and are of significant heritage value” are conserved in active agricultural use.
These other related structures refer to items such as walls, cobbled yard surfaces, walled orchards, dung steads, millraces, gate pillars and gates.
Who is eligible to apply?
The scheme is open to farmers in the Republic of Ireland participating in and accepted into one of the following Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine schemes:
1. Approved participants in ACRES.2. Approved participants in the Organic Farming Scheme.3. Applicants must be the owner of the building/other related structure for which funding is sought or acting with the permission of the owner (in which case the owner must provide consent).What works are funded
The grant supports the conservation of traditional farm outbuildings, including roofs, walls, structural repairs, windows, and doors, as well the repair of other traditional farming structures, such as walls, gate pillars and gates, walled orchards, cobbled yards and masonry dung steads. The Heritage Council is encouraging farmers with these other items to apply for grant aid in 2026.
The ethos of the Traditional Farm Building Scheme is that minimal intervention is applied, ie carrying out necessary repair work in an unintrusive manner to fix what is wrong, but not setting out to do too much work.
The grant is not for farm buildings alone, with other features such as the cobbled yard pictured eligible.
The Heritage Council have highlighted that works which are, in their opinion, restoration works (as opposed to repair), are very unlikely to be supported with grant aid.
Buildings which are deemed eligible for the grant are:
Traditional farm buildings constructed before 1960 for a use associated with agriculture, and built using traditional methods and materials of the time, such as timber, brick, stone, earth, slate or thatch and which were, or still are, used for an agricultural purpose. Other traditional buildings only where it is clearly demonstrated they are in long established active agricultural use. Reinstatement of previously existing features which were removed (such as a building which has lost its roof) will only be considered where the Heritage Council deems exceptional circumstances apply and if there is strong evidence, eg old photographs, of their former appearance and is necessary and they complete an otherwise intact environment. The buildings should be in fair condition. If in poor condition they must be repairable and have surviving materials that contribute to their characterCompetition for grant aid is set to be stiff, with the Heritage Council stating that they expect 40 projects can be supported, with the hopes being to support more than 40 because with part of the €750,000 ringfenced for the repair of these other related farm structures which are smaller projects.
Grant amount
Grant amounts vary between €4,000 and €30,000. The Heritage Council will make all grant payments on this grant scheme on behalf of The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. A grant award will not be for more than 75% of the cost of the works with a maximum available grant of €30,000. However, not all work will be aided at 75%. An information webinar will be hosted on Friday at 12 noon (17 April) with information on how to register available on the Heritage Council’s website.
It’s important to remember that the buildings for which grant aid is sought for must remain in agricultural use. We have been lucky enough to feature several fine restorations in the Irish Farmers Journal over the last number of years which have been brought back into working condition, primarily as storage barns or for calving/lambing.
Grant aid will not be given for converting buildings for non-agricultural use, such as accommodation.
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