Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 October 2020
593. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if TAMS will be expanded to include cattle underpasses in view of the risk to farmers crossing busy roads with cattle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29954/20]
View answerThere are a wide variety of items available under the suite of seven measures under TAMS II. However, funding for cattle underpasses are not included. The financial allocation in respect of TAMS for the full Rural Development Programme period is €395m. To date, total expenditure, including transitional expenditure, has reached €244m with commitments of an additional €130m made to scheme participants who have yet to draw down those commitments.
All outstanding approvals issued represent potential outstanding liabilities for my Department and we must have a budget in place to pay these claims. As a result, it is not possible at this time to consider adding additional items such as cattle underpasses to the comprehensive list of investment items already available under TAMS II.
