Waterford Fine Gael Senator John Cummins has welcomed the announcement of the new Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme, tranche one of which opens for application today (22nd February 23’). TAMS 3 will provide funding of €370m over the next five years for farmers to invest in their businesses.
Senator John Cummins stated: “Today’s announcement demonstrates this Government’s commitment to the Agri sector by providing grant aid of €370 million over the next five years for farmers to invest in their businesses with grant rates of between 40% and 60%. It covers a wide range of items that improve the productivity, efficiency, and environmental footprint of farms.
Senator Cummins continued: “I’m glad to see that the scheme has been improved to include farm safety, solar investments, organics, and low emission technology to help support farmers in delivering a number of key priorities for the sector. I’m sure the inclusion of a wide range of new investment items, in addition to existing items will be welcomed by farmers and lead to improvements in the social and economic sustainability of their farms”.
“The opening of TAMS 3 will have been highly anticipated by farmers. It is a huge driver of economic activity in rural Ireland and represents a significant long-term commitment by this Government to the future proofing and modernising of Irish farms. This scheme is about ensuring farmers are getting the support they need as they continue to strive to further improve their farms and farming practices, helping to maintain our record as world leaders in farming.”
The installation of solar panels is the first available investment with a further nine headings available on a phased basis during Tranche 1 which will close on 16 June.
Senator Cummins pointed to the significant improvements in the scheme such as:
Each farmer will have an investment ceiling of €90,000, an increase of €10,000 on TAMS 2. Farmers who maxed out their ceiling in the previous scheme will also have them reset to zero.
The grant rate will also be increased from the standard 40% to 60% for solar investments, low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment, investments by female and young farmers, organic capital investments and farm safety investments.
Farmers will also be able to invest up to €90,000 in both solar and LESS equipment and retain a €90,000 ceiling for other investments. The maximum solar installation size has also been increased from 12Kw to 62kW and includes battery storage.
A number of new items have also been added to the scheme including cattle underpasses, farm roadways, health and fertility monitoring systems and investments for equine farmers.
Senator Cummins concluded by saying department officials are available to answer queries of a technical nature at the following email address: tams@agriculture.gov.ie.