Agriculture Schemes
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-06
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Mike Kennelly (FG), Labour Panel

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his work. The Department of agriculture is probably the heaviest Department, given recent activities going on and the role the Minister is playing in it.
I acknowledge the benefits the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, has delivered for farmers, supporting investment, improving efficiency and helping the sector move towards greater sustainably. Farmers value the schemes but many have contacted me with serious concerns about how the current tranches are operating. I want to outline those briefly.
Farmers are facing electricity and gas increases of 4% to 9%. Many had hoped TAMS-supported solar PV would help offset those costs. Instead, they are encountering a rank and selection system excluding large numbers of genuine applicants. Only around 10% of solar PV applications are being approved, which farmers find impossible to reconcile with rising energy costs and national climate ambitions. A major issue is the decision to exclude domestic farm dwellings sharing the same meter point reference number, MPRN. This rules out many drystock, sheep and tillage farms, which typically operate from a single meter for both home and yard. Farmers feels this is penalising them.
They also point out only 2.6% of agricultural land is being sought for solar farms yet there is huge potential in farm buildings and homes. At the same time, rural grid infrastructure is outdated and often lacks capacity. In places like Dingle, west Kerry, farmers report only 38 kVA coming into the town before being dispersed. They argue on-farm solar would generate power exactly where it is needed, easing pressure on the grid rather than adding to it.
Many farmers have already paid the €1,000 for NC7 approval, which is a non-refundable cost. If their TAMS application fails, they simply lose that money. They see this as unfair and a real deterrent to renewable investment.
One farmer told me he could milk 40 cows from the solar array on his parlour roof, producing 12 kW at 4.30 on a summer evening last year without any battery back-up. He was producing a greener product yet the emissions reduction is counted in the energy sector rather than on his farm. Farmers feel this does not reflect their contribution.
Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly recently highlighted the need for a more coherent and farmer-friendly approach to on-farm renewables, warning that overly complex or inconsistent processes risk undermining Ireland's ability to meet its energy and climate commitments. His comments reflect exactly what farmers are telling us. They want to invest and contribute but the system is not workable. Farmers are asking the Minister to consider reinstating TAMS solar without rank and selection, particularly at a time of high energy insecurity. Solar PV can reduce reliance on fuel and heating oil, strengthen rural gird resilience and allow families and farms to generate clean energy.
As many farmers have put it, they want the power to be in the hands of people and communities. I ask the Minister to address these concerns and consider adjustments that would allow the TAMS to better support farmers who want to invest, contribute to climate action and secure the future of their farms.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-06/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-06