Calls for underpasses, feed bins and farm roadways to be included in TAMS

The calls came following a meeting with senior Department of Agriculture officials. Joe Brady said in the forthcoming amendment to the RDP 2014-2020 the Department must prioritise a significant increase in the allocation for ANCs, additional items for TAMS grants and the drawdown of maximum funding for the sheep sector.

Expansion of TAMS

Brady said that necessary changes must be made to the scheme to improve payments. On TAMS funding, he called for additional items to be included in the schemes such as underpasses, feed bins for all sectors, farm roadways, new buildings for the pig and poultry sectors and rubber slat mats. The IFA also presented a case for an increase in the investment limit for the intensive sectors and an immediate review of standard costings.

At the same meeting, IFA national sheep committee chair John Lynskey told the Department that the IFA is seeking additional funds under the Sheep Welfare Scheme in Budget 2018. He also called for all funding under the sheep scheme to be used through the inclusion of new entrants.

Further funding was also being sought for commonage farmers, with IFA national hill committee chair Pat Dunne saying that commonage farmers who increase their sheep numbers as part of the management plans must be paid on these sheep. In addition, he said hill farmers deserve a higher level of payment.

The IFA also called for changes to the Knowledge Transfer Scheme, the re-opening of GLAS to new entrants and improvements to the organic scheme.

Joe Brady stressed that spending on the RDP at the mid-term point is not on course and highlighted the necessity for payments to be made on time, particularly under TAMS and GLAS schemes.

Fairytale

Speaking at the end of May on a motion on the review of the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme, Minister Creed said that a Department of Agriculture study had concluded that all RDP funds would be spent. “There seems to be this view – this is fairytale stuff – that there is a massive underspend in the Rural Development Programme,” he said. “There is no headroom to say we can re-allocate funds to another programme.”

He also argues that it would not be feasible to increase hill farmers’ ANC payments to bring them in line with what island farmers receive. “If we were to accede to the proposal, we would take €150m out of the €200m we have available.”

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