The list of items eligible for grant aid under the TAMS II Pig and Poultry Scheme has now been published by the Department of Agriculture, along with terms and conditions. The scheme has also opened for applications on www.agfood.ie.

As with other TAMS II schemes, applications must be made online. The investment ceiling is €80,000 for individuals or companies and the grant rate is 40%. The first application round, or tranche, is now open and it closes on Friday 30 October. The next tranche will then open for applications.

Eligible items include medicine-dispenser units, water meters, solar panels for generating electricity or heating water, heat recovery units, air source heat pumps, energy-efficient biomass boilers, feed system upgrades, energy-efficiency upgrades for farrowing houses, for weaner houses, for fattener houses and poultry houses. Depending on the enterprise, this includes lighting, insulation of doors, walls and roofs, ventilation system, electrical heat pads, water heat pads and indirect heating systems. The list also includes disease reduction facilities for existing poultry houses. See http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/farmbuildings/.

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The scheme was welcomed by IFA poultry chair Nigel Renaghan. “It’s the first such grant scheme for the poultry sector,” he said. “It applies across the board covering broilers, free-range eggs, turkey, pullets and broiler breeders.

“We have been working on this for 18 months. It will make a lot of farm families a little bit more efficient, bring them up to the most modern standard and help them derive an income,” he said.