Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 December 2017
397. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to raise the limit for investments for the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, currently at €80,000, to allow greater scope for farmers to develop their business; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52997/17]
View answerTAMS II has been very successful to date in terms of uptake with the number of approvals that have issued exceeding 11,660. All of these approvals represent committed expenditure under the TAMS II measure of the Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020. Until such time as these approvals are acted upon or expire the budget for TAMS must include provision for the potential expenditure involved. There are no proposals at present to increase the investment ceilings.
Of the applications approved 2,900 payment claims have been received to date. Payment claims submitted continue to be paid on an ongoing basis. However, until such time as the works applied for and approved have been completed and payment claims submitted, payments cannot issue. All participants who have completed approved works are urged to submit their payment claims immediately to facilitate early payment.
