Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 July 2020
971. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if contractors will be allowed to avail of funding under the LESS scheme; if consideration will be given to funding conversion kits for existing machinery for either farmers or contractors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20754/20]
View answer973. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to December 2020 to expand the LESS scheme to allow contractors to apply; his further plans or to allow farmers to avail of the grant if they employ a licensed contractor using LESS equipment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20756/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 971 and 973 together.
The EU regulations that govern the TAMS II Schemes under the Rural Development Programme, 2014-2020 dictate that the recipients must be farmers, or groups of farmers. Therefore, the Department is precluded from funding the purchase of LESS (Low Emission Slurry Spreading) equipment by contractors under TAMS II. The Department is, however, committed to the use of this equipment with over €28 milion funded to date for LESS investments under TAMS II.
Grant aid for conversion kits is not currently covered under the TAMS II Schemes. It is not planned at present to make any change to the investment list to include these items for all farmers. Full details of these investments and all the TAMS II measures can be found on the Department's website.
