A massive over-subscription of the new National Liming Programme 2023 has raised questions over how much money farmers will receive from the scheme.

Some 41,000 farmers applied for the scheme as of last week’s deadline, with the highest applications from counties Cork (4,921), Galway (4,566) and Mayo (4,179).

The scheme has a budget of €8m with a grant rate of €16/t, however, if the demand was to be met, the Government would need €72m to accommodate all farmer applications.

Farmers have applied for 4.5m tonnes (t) of lime under the scheme, which is more than four times the annual lime application in a typical year.

The Department of Agriculture has said that despite the oversubscription, the scheme budget will remain at €8m.

Eligibility

“All applicants that meet the eligibility requirements set down in the terms and conditions for the liming programme will be accepted into the programme, however – as provided for in the terms and conditions – the approved quantities of ground limestone will have to reflect the available budget for the programme,” a Department spokesperson said.

Each successful applicant will be contacted directly by the Department in the coming weeks about the quantity of lime they are eligible to receive aid on.