ICMSA reiterates call for TAMS replacement roof grant
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) has repeated its call for grant aid to replace roofs on farm buildings under the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS).
The chairperson of ICMSA’s Farm Business Committee, Pat O’Brien, expressed disappointment that the measure has still not been made available to farmers.
He said that ICMSA had looked for the introduction of the grant aid earlier this year and before the Autumn storm period was upon us.
"Back in March, we were promised this support later in the year. It’s November now, and there’s still no sign of it and farmers are concerned that it won’t arrive until the new year," O’Brien said.
ICMSA
The ICMSA Farm Business Committee chair the delay is "hugely disappointing", adding that "farmers have delayed carrying out repairs in expectation of the grant being made available".
"What are farmers supposed to do? If you repair the shed now you won’t get the grant.
"Should we go away and buy rain jackets for the animals and wait till the application process opens?" he asked.
O’Brien warned that this delay means that by the time that roofs are officially included in TAMS, "it is likely that a full year will have elapsed since Storm Éowyn struck the country" which triggered calls for roof replacement to be included under the scheme.
“ICMSA is calling on the minister for agriculture and the minister for finance to make the funds available immediately and allow farmers to complete the necessary works.
"It’s a major health and safety concern, for both farmers and their animals, to have ‘blown down’ and structurally questionable sheds left unrepaired.
"Sheds with missing sheeting leave livestock at the mercy of the elements.
"It is unfair when farmers are doing their best to look after their animals to be left waiting on grant aid that was indicated last March but is still nowhere to be seen," he said.
Replacement roofs
O'Brien also said that payments should be backdated for any work carried out from this point onward and called for flexibility in the scheme’s criteria.
"The grant may require a full roof replacement. While that’s necessary in many cases, there should also be provision for part-roof repairs.
"The farmer should have the option of a full or partial repair if suitable. It’s a ‘no-brainer’ to have this option and can save money for both the Departments and the farmer", he said.
