The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has called for “prompt clarification” on applications made by farmers under the new Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3).
The new scheme provides funding for capital investments on farms and will be in place for five years with a budget of €370 million.
There are ten different schemes under TAMS 3, with the closing date for Tranche 1 applications falling on June 30.
However, since then neither farmers nor their advisors have been provided with any update on the status of those applications.
TAMS
IFA National Rural Development Committee chair Michael Biggins has now called both Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to “end the silence and clarify where farmers stand”.
“At the minute, there are thousands of farmers around the country who have made applications for TAMS that have no idea whether or not they have been approved, never mind when they might hope to start works or be paid for it.
“It’s madness altogether and creating huge frustration, particularly among farmers tight on animal housing or slurry storage for the coming winter,” he said.
“The department were quick enough to extend the Tranche 1 deadline because their release schedule of new TAMS schemes proved slower than anticipated.
“But now we are into the middle of August and farmers are in complete limbo. It’s just not good enough,” Biggins added.
The IFA chair said he is getting calls regularly from frustrated farmers who are eager to move ahead with planned works.
“The department need to clarify the situation, and allocate whatever resources necessary to quickly resolve the issue, particularly where there is potential animal welfare or health and safety issues.
“It’s hard for farmers to plan on-farm investment when they don’t know whether they are going to get a grant.
“If they drive on and invest themselves in housing or slurry storage, they will rule themselves out of grant-aid.
“They immediately need clarity if they have any hope of getting work done in 2023,” Biggins said.
Tranche 2 of TAMS 3 has been open since July 1, however there is also no clarity about when the deadline for applications will fall.
Agriland has contacted DAFM for comment.