Figures released by the Department of Agriculture show that the approval process for tranche 5 TAMS applications has begun. Tranche 5 closed for applications on 6 December 2024, with 5,823 applications submitted.

To date, 14%, or 795 applications have been approved, with some schemes seeing a more rapid rate of initial approval than other.

The LESS and TCIS, both encompassing machinery that does not require planning permission, letters of exemption etc, have again seen rapid approval rates, with 47% of LESS applications and 39% of TCIS approved in the first two weeks.

The two schemes alone account for 40% of all approvals to date.

Previous tranches

As has been seen before, the SCIS has been slow to get off the ground, with just two applications approved.

The PPIS has yet to have any approvals issued, but previous tranches have seen this scheme (which typically has the lowest application rate) be dealt with rapidly once approvals begin issuing. All eligible tranche 5 applications will be approved.

A total of 403 applications from tranche 4 remain in progress, with farmers and agents urged to check queries and reply in a timely manner to speed up the process.

Emergency TAMS and tranche 6

The three-week window for the emergency TAMS tranche which was launched to assist with damage caused by storm Eowyn is set to close on Friday 28th at 5pm.

Unlike other schemes, TAMS does not close at midnight, with the deadline strictly being 5pm. Generators (PTO and petrol/diesel variants), wood/biomass chippers, mulchers and stock fencing are all covered in the emergency tranche.

Tranche 6 of TAMS 3, the launch of which was delayed to allow for the emergency TAMS tranche, will then open on Monday morning next, 31 March, with the tranche running until 6 June.