Family Farm Tax crisis Northern Ireland: Mass tractor rallies to go ahead despite Storm Eowyn - Parades Commission approves 2,800 vehicles
Mass tractor rallies will take place across Northern Ireland tomorrow despite Storm Eowyn - with the Parades Commission approving 2,800 vehicles taking part.
The rallies are part of a UK-wide day of action against Chancellor Rachel Reeves' new inheritance tax of 20%, to be applied to all farm assets worth over £1m.
Stormont’s Department of Agriculture says around 50% of NI’s 24,000 farms are now under threat.
The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) says seven tractor rallies will go ahead despite storm disruption, one in every County and two in Co Down.
• See full details of all seven tractor rallies here.
The Parades Commission approved 400 tractors at each rally, although numbers may be down due to storm damage.
Some 4000 farmers attended a rally in Lisburn in November to oppose the tax hike.
Last month a tractor rally brought Whitehall in London to a standstill.
Kilkeel pig farmer Trevor Shields is hoping to take part - but like many farmers has an unexpected workload after Storm Eowyn.
"I think it's a very serious situation we're in for family farms," he said. "It's going to be devastating for a lot of them."
He has two sons and a daughter working in the farm business.
If the tax hike hits his family he hopes selling some assets would cover it.
"But it could take the business back 10 to 20 years - that is how long it takes to build a family business.
"We do pay our taxes - but now the government wants to pull us down and tax us all over again. It's totally unfair.
"The farming community is not going to survive these new rules."
The UFU said that a petition signed by more than 270,000 members of the public was handed in to 10 Downing Street yesterday on behalf of the four UK farming unions, urging government to ditch the "devastating" family farm tax.
The union said that a report from Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) economists this week said the tax changes will likely leave elderly farmers horribly exposed, with no time to manage their way through the new policy.
The changes pose "a real risk to UK food production" it added.
Meanwhile the PSNI has warned the public that "large convoys of tractors" will cause delays at the rallies from 2-4pm today and to find alternative routes if possible.
The Armagh route will run between Armagh, Markethill and Ballyleny (Richhill).
The Saintfield route runs from the Maze site, to Hillsborough, Carryduff and Saintfield area.
The Banbridge route runs from the Maze site to Hillsborough and Dromore to Banbridge.
The Londonderry route runs from Lisahally Market and circles the city via Kilfennan, Dungiven, the City Centre, Ulster University, and over the bridge to the Waterfoot Hotel and back to the starting point.
The Ballymena route starts at the town's livestock Mark and onto Woodside Road and the Broughshane Road. It circles the north side of the town out to Ahoghill and then circles the south side of the town back to the mart.
The Fermangh route starts at Enniskillen Mart, before proceeding into the town, which it encircles before returning back to the mart.
The last rally starts at Omagh Mart on the Gillygooley Road and proceeds to the Omagh Hospital complex, the Swinging Bars Roundabout, Crevenagh Road and back to the mart.