Higher reference costs will now apply to all applications made under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS). Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue made the announcement earlier this week.
He says the increases to costings will range from 5% to 15% under the last TAMS tranche. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) says the changes were made after a “full review” of the reference costs in the scheme.
Minister McConalogue has also announced an increase in the investment ceiling for the Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme (PPIS), this is an increase from €80,000 to €200,000 under TAMS, which commenced from the opening of tranche 26 on Saturday 9 April.
The Minister says “the continued development of the pigmeat and poultry sectors are a priority for me given the key role these sectors play in the national economic context.” He adds that he has brought forward dedicated supports for pig farmers in recent weeks to assist them in the current period of unprecedented challenge arising from the impact of feed costs.
The specifications of the PPIS will facilitate farmers in installing higher welfare infrastructure on their farms. Under the provisions of the TAMS programme, grant aid will be available at the rate of 40% of expenditure and 60% for young farmers.
The TAMS programme is one of the success stories to date with €335 million in grant aid paid to farmers for investments on their farms date under the Rural Development Programme. The minister says he was aware of the current spike in commodity and construction costs, and he noted that this is the third increase to be implemented in costs in the last 3 years.