The costings which underpin the rate of payment under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) are ’12 months out of date’ due to inflation, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has said.
The association argued that farmers applying for tranche 25 of the scheme “cannot be expected” to work off these costings.
Michael Biggins, the association’s rural development chairperson, said this evening (Wednesday, March 23): “We are seeing an unprecedented rise in inflation, meaning the price of building materials such as steel and timber has soared.”
“The current costings, which were updated as far back as March 2021, are completely out of line with the price of materials today, making it impossible for farmers to begin their projects.”
According to Biggins, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s current system of revising costs “is not working and is not able to cope with the pace of changes in the price of materials”.
“The war in Ukraine has stretched supply chains to breaking point. Even the most recent revision last November is hopelessly out of date, and that isn’t available to farmers applying under this tranche,” he noted.
The IFA rural development chair said that the department confirmed that the revised reference costings prepared in November would be implemented for TAMS tranche 26, which is due to open on April 9.
“Events have overtaken that revision.”
“Farmers are being forced to work with reference costs which are completely out of date. It means they won’t receive a rate of grant that is reflective of the actual cost of investment incurred,” Biggins stressed.
He called on Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to ensure that the reference costs for tranche 25 are retrospectively revised; to revise costings again before tranche 26; and to establish a system to review costings before the opening of each tranche while the high level of inflation continues.