Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) farm and rural affairs chair, Denis Drennan, has requested that revised Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) costings be introduced immediately. His view being that costings for shed building and farm investment under the TAMS are now “disconnected from reality”.
Drennan describes the charges as “demonstrably out of date and inadequate”, saying that this was the case even before the most recent surge in inflation around construction costs.
The chair added that farmers cannot wait until TAMS tranche 26 opens in April 2022 – for which the current costings were developed in March last year. Now, in the spring of 2022, they in no way reflect the current costs of materials. Some of our members have been quoted prices in excess of 40% above the reference costings.”
Drennan states that the failure to update the TAMS costings has made the scheme irrelevant. “We very much regret to point out that the gap is widening, not closing. We all know that our dairy farmers have to engage with the environmental issues and ICMSA fully supports that engagement, but that means operating TAMS on a realistic level and making it fit for purpose.”
He concluded saying that “It is not fit for purpose right now and it has not been for some time. Only the Department can fix that and they need to get to grips with a problem that is completely obvious and completely within their control.”
LSL News.