New investment ceiling for pigs and poultry sector also announced
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. has today announced the increase to the TAMs reference costs with increases ranging from 5-15% across the investment items listed under TAMS, this is in addition to increases of 5-20% on costings already introduced in July 2021. These come after a full review by DAFM of the reference costs in the scheme. The Minister today also announced an increase, from €80,000 to €200,000, in the investment ceiling for the Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme (PPIS) under TAMS which commenced from the opening of the tranche 26 of TAMS on 9th April 2022.
The Minister announced that these changes have been implemented with effect from Tranche 26 which opened on Saturday 9th April 2022.
The Minister commented “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. I have brought forward dedicated supports for pig farmers in recent weeks to assist them in the current period of unprecedented challenge arising from the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and its impact on feed costs. I welcome the increase in the TAMS ceiling as it forms part of the wider package of measures brought forward to support the sector.
The TAMs scheme is one of the success stories to date with €335m in grant aid paid to farmers for investments on their farms date under the Rural Development Programme. I’m very aware of the current spike in commodity and construction costs currently. We keep reference costs in the scheme under continuous review and this is the third increase to be implemented in costs in the last 3 years . I am pleased to announce the increase in the reference costs under TAMS and I would like to remind all farmers who have completed approved works and have payment claims outstanding in relation to TAMS to submit them to the Department’s online system as soon as the works are completed to facilitate the prompt issue of payments.”
The Minister also confirmed that the upper investment limit under the Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme has been increased from €80,000 per holding to €200,000 per holding. The specifications of the scheme will facilitate farmers in installing higher welfare infrastructure on their farms. Under the provisions of TAMS scheme, grant aid will be available at the rate of 40% of expenditure and 60% for young farmers.