Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 March 2013
123. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of money allocated to the farm improvement scheme since 2007; the spend to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14662/13]
View answerThe Farm Improvement Scheme was introduced by my Department in July 2007 with a total funding allocation of €79 million. Under the Scheme, grant-aid was available up to a maximum eligible investment ceiling of €120,000 for animal housing and related facilities with a separate ceiling of €120,000 being available for investments in relation to dairy hygiene. The standard grant-rate was 40%. The Scheme was suspended on 31 October 2007 as the value of applications received, in grant terms, exceeded the financial ceiling. 12,675 applications were received from farmers prior to the closing date of the Scheme and these applications were processed by my Department up to the level of funding which was available. This funding permitted my Department to process only those applications received up to 21 October 2007.
The annual expenditure which has taken place under the Scheme since its introduction in 2007 is set out in the following table:
|
Year |
Amount (€m) |
|
2007 |
0.014 |
|
2008 |
12.910 |
|
2009 |
27.076 |
|
2010 |
12.402 |
|
2011 |
3.512 |
|
2012 |
3.355 |
|
2013 (end-Feb) |
0.194 |
|
Total |
59.463 |
The Farm Improvement Scheme was subsequently replaced by the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS) which provided €110 million to support on-farm investment in a number of specific areas such as animal welfare, bioenergy, dairy equipment, rainwater harvesting and sheep fencing/handling.
