Agriculture Schemes Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-06 ============================================================ Martin Heydon (FG), Kildare South I thank Senator Kennelly for raising the matter and the opportunity to provide an update on progress with the implementation of TAMS 3. Overall, TAMS 3 has proven extremely popular, with an unprecedented level of applications received, at three times the average number received per tranche compared with TAMS 2. The submission of applications commenced in 2023 under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan from 2023 to 2027. The need to put new administrative and IT structures in place while simultaneously opening and rolling out the new scheme for participants meant that it took longer than hoped to commence the issuing of approvals and payments. Despite these initial delays, the scheme has been operating efficiently and at pace for some time, with delays now effectively eliminated. The issuing of approvals, allowing farmers to proceed with their investments, and the processing of payment claims are generally within the timelines set out in the farmers’ charter. A total of 63,754 applications have been received across the first 11 tranches of the scheme. Payments to the value of almost €156 million have issued to over 17,000 participants. They are issuing at a rate of approximately €2 million per week. When it comes to investing in sustainability, I will briefly focus on two specific investments within TAMS. As the Senator is aware, the practice of low-emission slurry spreading, LESS, is an important, environmentally sustainable technology that will facilitate Ireland meeting its environmental commitments through reductions in ammonia and other reactive nitrogen emissions from soil. Support for both LESS and nutrient storage investments are part of a cross-departmental collaborative approach to ensure the continued use of the nitrates derogation and the protection of water quality in Ireland. In this regard, since 2015, over €163 million has been paid to farmers to support significant investments on Irish farms in manure storage and low-emission slurry spreading technology. The supports available under TAMS for the installation of solar panels are in keeping with the commitment to assist farmers to address climate and sustainability targets. To date, over 3,400 farmers have received approval to proceed with works, while 1,629 farmers have installed panels and received grant aid for their completed investment. The Senator understandably raised a point about ranking and selection. Despite the significant budget available for TAMS over the period 2023 to 2027, due to the scale of approval numbers issued to date - a total of 45,987 approvals, or three times the equivalent under TAMS 2 - it was necessary to introduce ranking and selection for tranche 9, which closed for applications in September 2025, and again for tranche 10, which closed for applications in December 2025. This was also the case with TAMS 2, when it became necessary to apply ranking and selection midway through the programme. It is not unusual. My Department will continue to review the overall funding position on an ongoing basis. Ultimately, I need to be able fund the last tranche in 2027 in the same way I am funding tranches now. The budget must be managed. The ranking marking criteria are available on my Department’s website. I will now focus on particular sub-schemes within TAMS 3, specifically in tranche 10. A reduction of 90% has been applied to expenditure on the solar capital investment scheme. Senator Kennelly has clearly articulated frustrations in this regard. That 90% reduction is acknowledging the fact that the expenditure of almost €32.5 million under the solar scheme accounts for approximately 20% of the total TAMS 3 expenditure to date. In view of the critical importance of nutrient storage investments, which are available across four of the schemes, namely, the animal welfare nutrient storage scheme, the organic capital investment scheme, the young farmer capital investment scheme and the women farmer capital investment scheme, a lower reduction of 60% has been applied. The importance of farm safety and our unacceptably high levels of farm fatalities across all sectors are acknowledged and, therefore, I decided to approve all eligible applications under the farm safety capital investment scheme and keep it at 100%. TAMS continues to be a hugely successful scheme. Supports this year will amount to some €90 million, with a similar allocation for next year. We are continuing to provide support to farmers to upgrade and invest in their holdings. Obviously, we are seeing a significant increase in the number of applications. That is why there is a need to manage that budget out until the end of 2027. --- 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