Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon has today (Thursday, March 6) announced that a new tranche of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) is to open for storm damage on farms.

The minister outlined the support available to farmers under the scheme in response to the unprecedented damage caused to the agriculture sector by Storm Éowyn.

"This tranche will open immediately after the current tranche has closed on Friday, March 7, 2025, and will close on Friday, March 28, 2025," he said.

The specific items in respect of which applications will be accepted over this three-week period are as follows:

Backup PTO (power take-off) generators;
Sheep, bovine and equine fencing;
Wood and biomass chippers;
Mulchers.

“As this tranche is specifically in place to deal with the effects of Storm Éowyn, I will ensure that all these applications are processed as a priority," the minister said.

Following the recent power outages arising from storm damage, Minister Heydon said that he has "reviewed the scope of generators supported by TAMS to include all generators, irrespective of the drive mechanism".

"The grant is targeted at the generator rather than the drive mechanism," he said.

This investment is open to all farmers who declare the minimum eligibility requirement of 5ha under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme in the year of application, or preceding year.

There is no requirement to be milking cows to be eligible for backup generators under the scheme.

Backup generators are available in TAMS under the Dairy Equipment Scheme (DES), Organic Capital Investment Scheme (OCIS), Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS) and Women Farmers Capital Investment Scheme (WFCIS).

As the clean-up after Storm Éowyn is ongoing, Minister Heydon noted that there is increased demand for woodchippers and mulchers.

"These are both mobile investments and, as such, a farmer is permitted to purchase the equipment, at their own risk, once they have submitted an online application.

"The application will then proceed through the normal process," he said.

Minister Heydon acknowledged that "significant damage has been inflicted on the farming sector in general" and he urged farmers to examine the supports available under TAMS.

"Many farm buildings have been significantly damaged and in some cases, it may be more economic to replace the entire structure.

"In such cases, it is open to farmers to apply for support for the construction of new buildings under TAMS," he said.

To ensure farms are more resilient in advance of future weather events, the minister intends to introduce "grant aid support under TAMS for replacement of roofs".

"The application process for this specific investment will be available later this year, when systems are developed.

"In the meantime, I would urge farmers to carry out a structural assessment of their farm buildings," he said.

Minister Heydon also confirmed that all eligible applications submitted under tranche five of TAMS 3 will be approved.

A total of 5,823 applications were submitted in tranche 5 of the scheme, bringing the total number of applications under TAMS 3 to date to 32,799.

"The vast majority of these applications have undergone an initial examination, so I expect that approvals will start to issue over the coming weeks," Minister Heydon said.

TAMS provides grants to farmers to build and/or improve a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holding.

The scheme is is jointly funded by the national exchequer and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) of the European Union under Ireland’s RDP 2014-2022 and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

The next regular tranche, which will cater for all TAMS applications, will open immediately thereafter on March 29 and will close on the previously announced date of June 6, 2025. There will be no impact on agreed timelines.

“The list of investment items will continue to be reviewed on a regular basis. The inclusion of further investment categories will be dependent on the availability of the required funding under the TAMS 3 schemes," Minister Heydon said.