€286 million has been paid out to date under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed to Agriland.

Payments under TAMS II continue to be issued at an average rate of €1.3 million per week on average, the DAFM also said.

Tranche 21, which closed on April 16, saw a total of 3,142 applications recieved.

1,153 applications rolled over from tranche 21, therefore, a total of 4,295 applications are under consideration under this current tranche (22), the department added.

Tranche 22 opened for applications on April 17, and will stay open until July 23, 2021.

Mooted proposals to remove dairying from TAMS II slammed

“Deep concerns” have been raised that the DAFM “has not included dairy-related investments in its proposals” for farm investment grants under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2020.

President of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) Pat McCormack called on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue to immediately confirm that this is not the case.

McCormack said that such an action would amount to a “deliberate hampering of Ireland’s most successful and technical area of commercial farming”, adding that it is “practically impossible” to work out the logic behind such a move.