The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has proposed that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) immediately reviews the reference costs being used for Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) investments to reflect the increased cost of materials in recent months.
It follows a meeting of the Farmers Charter Committee today (Thursday, March 4).
TAMS provides grants for on-farm capital investment and offers grant aid of 40% towards the cost of certain investments and up to 60% in the case of young farmers.
Increased costs
Chairperson of ICMSA Farm and Rural Affairs Committee, Denis Drennan, said that the cost of steel has increased substantially with the result that farmers expecting a 40% or 60% grant will see a substantially reduced grant in reality.
“The department confirmed that they are currently reviewing the costs and we need that concluded as soon as possible and – critically – the revisions should apply to current applications in the system,” Drennan said.
It is obviously unacceptable that farmers who in good faith applied for a grant at a particular level now find themselves receiving a substantially reduced grant due to the increased cost of materials – something that is completely outside their control.
“Given the really significant increases we’re seeing here, we’re going to have to see the reference costs reviewed in a way that reflects [them].
“We know that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has the discretion to apply the revised reference costs to existing applicants and ICMSA is calling on him to do exactly that [to] ensure that the farmers concerned receive the actual level of grant they applied for,” he concluded.