All farmers who applied and met the scheme conditions under tranche 22 of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) II will be accepted into the scheme, the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has announced.

The Minister said average weekly payments of €1.2m have issued this year under the scheme, with €2.6m issuing this week alone.

Some €43.4m has been paid in respect of competed investments so far this year, and total payments amounting to over €305m have now been issued in relation to over 22,172 approved applications for completed investments since TAMS II opened in 2015.

These payments will continue to issue on a weekly basis

“TAMS continues to be a hugely successful and beneficial scheme and I am delighted to confirm that approvals will issue in respect of all eligible applications submitted under tranche 22,” the Minister said.

"Our priority now is to continue to issue payments to approved applicants for completed investments. These payments will continue to issue on a weekly basis,” he added.

Payment claims

Minister McConalogue advised all farmers who have completed approved works and have payment claims outstanding in relation to TAMS II to submit them to the Department’s online system as soon as soon as the works have been completed.

I would urge them to complete the investment work and apply for the payment as soon as possible

“With over 43,500 approvals issued since its launch, there are a considerable amount of outstanding approvals out there with farmers and I would urge them to complete the investment work and apply for the payment as soon as possible to facilitate the prompt issuing of payments,” he said.

Dates for the diary

The current tranche of TAMS II closes on 5 November 2021. Tranche 24 will open on 6 November 2021.

Reaction

IFA chair Michael Biggins has said that applicants under Tranche 22 of TAMS must be offered the revised reference costing rates.

The rural development chair said: “All Tranche 22 applicants must be offered the revised reference costing rates. Not to do so will put them at a substantial financial disadvantage.

“Materials such as steel, timber and concrete have seen steep increases this year.

“The impact of a costings increase means that a farmer will get a more realistic rate of grant relative to actual investment costs incurred,” he said.

“I’m calling on the Minister for Agriculture to ensure all applicants in Tranche 22 get the opportunity to retrospectively avail of the revised costings.

“He must also ensure that the costings are reviewed again for Tranche 24 to keep pace with current price inflation,” he added.