An estimated €89 million has been allocated for the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS) for 2023, according to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.
The minister said that TAMS “is one of the key drivers of on-farm investment”.
“It continues to be a hugely successful and beneficial scheme that will continue for the year ahead. An indicative allocation of €370 million for TAMS is available from 2022 to 2027, of which €89 million is provided for this year.
“Investments will be linked to climate, environment or animal welfare,” Minister McConalogue has outlined.
He expects the next TAMS will “open for receipt of applications on a phased basis throughout this month”.
The minister has outlined to members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine that to “assist generational renewal and gender balance, young farmers and, for the first time, women farmers will be provided with grant aid for capital investments at an enhanced grant rate of 60%, providing they meet the eligibility requirements”.
He also said that an increase to 60% grant aid for farm safety equipment would “encourage the development of physical safety infrastructure on farms”.
During a recent meeting of the joint committee the Independent TD for Galway-Roscommon, Michael Fitzmaurice, asked the minister for agriculture if the limit on a TAMS grant was “rising to €90,000?”.
MInister McConalogue told Deputy Fitzmauirce:
“We have two separate ceilings now. One of the reasons we feel the uptake was not as strong as it might have been in the outgoing TAMS was the opportunity costs of availing of it where farmers would not then be able to use their ceiling for other on-farm capital investment.
“There are two separate ceilings now. In theory, farmers will be now be able to avail of TAMS for up to €180,000, that is, up to €90,000 for solar and €90,000 for shed or tanks, for example”.
TAMS 3
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has published the comprehensive new national reference costs for TAMS 3 detailing what specific items will be eligible for grant aid from February 22.
There are more than 50 additional items included in the TAMS 3 list including cattle underpasses, farm roadways, and collars for health and fertility monitoring.