The latest Department of Agriculture schemes payment update for the week ending 2 October 2020 shows €1.252m paid to farmers under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) in the last week.

Payment rates have been steady in recent weeks and have generally ranged from €1.2m to €1.4m.

The Department are keen to continue making progress on TAMS II applications and are carrying out payment runs on a weekly basis.

Payment claims

The level of payment claims submitted in recent weeks has increased, which is not surprising given the tighter timelines introduced for farmers to undertake works or purchase equipment.

There are now 17,658 payment applications submitted and 16,589 applications paid, meaning there are 1,069 applications being processed at present.

The total sum of money paid out under the scheme now stands at €243m (€231.769m plus €11.513m transitional spend plus €.085m manual payments).

Tranche 19 of the scheme opened on 22 August and while there is still no confirmed closing date, it is thought it will be in mid-October.