Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has confirmed that ranking and selection will apply for tranche 12 of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS).

The system of ranking and selection of applications will work on a "differentiated basis", with the farm safety and nutrient storage schemes within TAMS seeing the highest rates of selection.

A total of 69,593 applications were submitted in the first twelve tranches of TAMS 2023-2027.

Tranche 12 closed for applications on June 19, with 5,839 applications submitted across all schemes, plus a further 1,395 applications which rolled over from Tranche 11.

The minister confirmed that 100% of eligible applications will be accepted under the Farm Safety Capital Investment Scheme, the only scheme were all eligible applications will be accepted.

The rates of selection of applications for each of the 10 schemes within TAMS are as follows:

Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS) - 10%;
Low-Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) - 10%;
Animal Welfare Nutrient Storage Scheme (AWNSS) - 75%;
Women Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (WFCIS) - 75%;
Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS) - 75%;
Organic Farmer Capital Investment Scheme (OCIS) - 75%;
Dairy Equipment Scheme (DES) - 20%;
Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme (PPIS) - 75%;
Tillage Capital Investment Scheme (TCIS) - 70%;
Farm Safety Capital Investment Scheme (FSCIS) - 100%.

Minister Heydon also confirmed that the current tranche 13 of TAMS will close for applications on September 4, while tranche 14 will close on December 4.

The minister commented: "TAMS...continues to be a very successful scheme with payments of over €181 million [under the current TAMS] issued to farmers to invest in their holdings.

"In applying ranking and selection to tranche 12...I must continue to be mindful of budgetary constraints, as similar to previous tranches, a huge number of applications have been received in tranche 12," he added.

According to the minister, application numbers for the current TAMS are three times higher than applications in a similar period under the previous TAMS programme from 2014 to 2022.

"In taking this decision to apply ranking and selection to tranche 12, I have ensured that 75% of all eligible applications for nutrient storage investments will be selected in this tranche," he said.

Minister Heydon added: "I have again decided to approve all eligible applications submitted under the farm safety scheme in acknowledgement of the huge importance of farm safety on all farms regardless of the type of farming.

"I would again urge farmers to continue to assess their holdings from a health and safety perspective and to seek the support which is available to address these issues," he said.