Minister Heydon confirms TAMS 3 limits will not change
Martin Heydon, Ireland’s minister for agriculture, food and the marine, made the statement during a Dáil Éireann debate in response to questions from Michael Cahill, a deputy. Mr Cahill had asked whether the herd-size limits and grant-repayment rules under TAMS 3 had been assessed to ensure that young dairy farmers would not be penalised for expanding after investing in essential milking infrastructure.
Mr Heydon said the current conditions were intended to align the scheme with government priorities for environmental public goods. The European Commission requires investment measures in current CAP Strategic Plans to concentrate on environmental protection, animal welfare and biodiversity. Ireland’s assessment for its CAP plan identified on-farm investment and new technologies as means of improving environmental efficiency in agriculture.
The assessment also identified access to finance for young farmers as a priority, alongside improvements in animal health, animal welfare and farm safety. Mr Heydon said the conditions attached to TAMS 3 reflected those priorities.
The herd restriction applies only to two investments covered by the milking-machine measure: robotic milking machines and cluster units. Applicants with between 121 and 160 dairy cows must submit a herd-expansion limitation letter when applying. The letter confirms that they will not increase their herd during the relevant period.
If a farmer breaches that commitment during the five years after receiving grant aid for the milking-machine investment, some or all of the grant can be recovered. An increase of fewer than five dairy cows carries no repayment under the stated scale. An increase of more than five and fewer than ten cows carries a 25% repayment of the milking-machine investment; an increase of more than ten and fewer than 15 carries a 50% repayment; and an increase of more than 15 carries a 100% repayment.
Mr Heydon said the average dairy herd contained 90 cows and that almost 80% of dairy herds remained eligible to apply for milking-machine investments without the limitation-letter requirement. He described the restriction as consistent with policies aimed at improving the sustainability of Ireland’s dairy herd and maintaining the country’s nitrates derogation. He said eligible young farmers had received €23.4m through TAMS 3 for a range of investments, and added that he had no plans to change the limits on dairy investments “at this time”.
