Planning permissions for new agricultural buildings surged almost 70% last year on 2015 levels.
Figures obtained from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that 1,741 planning permissions were granted in 2016.
This figure is up on 2015, when 1,029 permissions were given the green light by local authorities.
Further analysis shows that when 2014 figures (586) were compared with those in 2016, there was a surge of almost 200% in planning permissions.
To put this in context, the permissions granted for new agricultural builds in 2016 are equivalent to 931,000 sq m of floor space, or almost 100ha.
TAMS II
The surge in applications can be attributed to farmers applying to the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS II), which opened in June 2015.
Individual farmers can apply for grants of 40% on investments up to a ceiling of €80,000, while eligible young trained farmers can get a grant of up to 60%.
Those in farm partnerships can avail of funding up to a ceiling of €160,000.
The scheme operates on a tranche basis and the seventh tranche is due to close at the end of June.
It is worth noting that before making a TAMS II application, farmers need planning permission or a letter of exemption from their county council.
TAMS applications
As of the beginning of April, almost 11,000 TAMS II applications were made to the Department of Agriculture.
More than 7,300 of these applications have been approved as of that time.
The first tranche of the scheme saw over 2,900 farmers apply for grant aid. Applications to the scheme were higher when it first launched and have not reached the 2,900 high of tranche one since then.
Cork, Tipperary and Galway are the counties with the highest number of applications, with over 1,600, 880 and 820 applications respectively.
With so many applications in the south of the country, and a specific TAMS II scheme for dairy equipment, post-quota dairy expansion can also be attributed to the rise in planning permissions.
In the region of €9m has been paid out to date and the total budget for the TAMS II Scheme over the RDP 2014 to 2020 is €395m.