Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 April 2024
105. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the cost of extending the tillage capital investment scheme to farmers with less than 15 ha of owned, leased or rented lands. [16915/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Tillage Capital Investment Scheme is a measure under the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3). As outlined in the terms and conditions of the scheme, eligible applicants must have a minimum area of 15 hectares of eligible crops declared under their Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Payment Scheme, or equivalent, in the year of application, or previous year. The eligible crops are defined in the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme.
TAMS 3 is a demand-led scheme, with significant budgetary constraints. In order to ensure the most efficient allocation of resources under the Tillage Capital Investment Scheme, the Scheme is specifically targeted at farmers who have tillage as their main enterprise. The cost of extending the eligibility criteria as suggested in the question would be significant.
Just to put this into context, the total number of farms in Ireland with tillage crops less than 15 hectares amounts to slightly over 10,000 farms. Based on the current average grant aid in TAMS of €12,000, this would equate to an additional budget allocation of €120 million, assuming all 10,000 applied for grant aid under the Tillage Capital Investment Scheme. With this in mind, I have no plans to widen the eligibility criteria for the scheme at this time.
