Minister urges timely TAMS applications amid approval delays
The average weekly time-period for approval of grant applications is in line with the set targets in the Farmers’ Charter, according to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon.
The minister was responding to questions about the impact of delays in processing grant applications under the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3).
Speaking during a Dáil Éireann debate on agriculture schemes, TD Paul Lawless asked whether any assessment had been undertaken about the consequences of such holdups on project costs due to inflation, contractor availability, and price increases for materials.
Delayed responses
Minister Heydon said: “My department’s analysis of any pause in the processing of TAMS applications is largely due to the submission of applications which are [in]complete, and a delayed response to queries, raised by my department to the applicant.
“The average weekly time period for approval of applications ranges from five weeks in 2022 to eleven weeks in 2023.”
He added that this is in "line with the set targets in the Farmers’ Charter" where it is agreed that approvals are issued within three months of the ranking and selection of files under each tranche
The minister also said that the number of applications in which the approval process took longer than 12 to 52 weeks was “largely due to the fact that insufficient documentation has been provided by the applicant or their advisor to allow the progression of the application”.
Minister Heydon said: “ I acknowledge that difficulties may arise in securing contractors at certain times, so I would urge farmers to submit their application in sufficient time to ensure they can plan their proposed investments accordingly.
“A thorough examination of all investment costs was conducted by my department last year, resulting in the updating of reference costs.
"My department continues to monitor costs on an on-going basis, which will be adjusted as appropriate."
To date, over 55,000 approvals have issued to farmers allowing them to proceed with their investments.
TAMS 3 provides grants to farmers to build and/or improve a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holdings, according to the minister.
“Payments of over €193 million have issued to TAMS 3 participants since payments commenced in 2024, with payments of circa €1.5 million continuing to issue on a weekly basis,” he said.
