New TAMS Reference Costings Will Help – IFA

IFA Rural Development Chair John Curran has acknowledged the move by Minister Martin Heydon to update TAMS reference costings ahead of the latest tranche of TAMS, which opens on Sat.

“This issue has been a bone of contention for farmers for years. We got political commitments back in April that it and planning exemptions would align with the commencement of the final TAMS tranche of the year,” he said.

“I’ve no doubt the handbrake has been put on necessary on-farm investment. Costs have skyrocketed in recent years and have been slow to reduce. Department costings, particularly concrete-related ones, are way out of kilter and farmers haven’t been getting the full benefit of the grant rates suggested,” he said.

“We couldn’t have a situation where necessary on-farm investment in animal welfare; nutrient storage; water quality etc is constrained simply because the funds aren’t there. And that’s exactly what’s on the table with Rank & Selection,” he said.

“The Minister will point to the extra €160m secured through the National Development Plan, but that’s funding to 2030 and for Forestry Windblown support too. We have no idea how much of that will support TAMS investment specifically, and with the level of devastation following Storm Ewoyn, particularly along the Western seaboard, and the financial supports needed there, you’d have to say more money will be needed. On known metrics, we’ve already potentially maxed out twice that already and we are only in year three of the scheme. That’s the message we left Minister Paschal Donohoe and Minister Jack Chambers when we met on the IFA pre-Budget priorities,” John Curran said.      

“The turnaround in TAMS application decisions appears to have slowed down too. We still haven’t cleared the tranches that have closed at the start of the year. There are builders at the ready that can’t commence because they’re waiting on formal Department approval. It’s just not good enough. I know there are priority procedures in place at a local level for individual cases, but that’s not a sustainable solution either. We need to clear the backlog and allow works to drive on,” he said.

“It is vital that this is an absolute priority for the Government. We need to get planning exemptions in place. We need adequate budgets and to ensure TAMS approvals are expedited,” he concluded.