Last week, the Department of Agriculture announced that sheep fencing investment items are now available for online application in the current tranche of TAMS II, which closes on 24 June. Here are the main points to note before you prepare your application.

Costings

For lowland areas, sheep mesh wire with one strand of wire is costed at €5.34/linear metre on the Department’s reference cost list. For mountain sheep mesh wire with one strand of wire, the Department has a reference costing of €8.01/linear metre. A gateway is costed at €299.00 per gateway.

Certain conditions have to be met to qualify for the mountain payment rate. There is no difference in the type of fencing used on mountains and the difference in costing relates to accessibility costs.

Fences can also be erected on existing banks and walls once the specifications are met in this situation.

Materials

Timber posts as well as concrete and plastic posts are eligible for grant aid once the supplier is registered on the Department’s list of accepted fencing post suppliers (S 148A).

All materials purchased have to meet the Department’s specifications to be eligible for grant aid. if using timber posts, a fencing post certificate must be completed. The main specifications for sheep fencing are listed on the Department’s website under S148.

Field layout plan

For sheep fencing, a farm field layout plan to a scale not greater than 1:5000 or Basic Farm Payment application map, together with LPIS numbers identifying the parcels where fencing is proposed and showing the location of all proposed fencing and gateways, must be included with the online application.

Where more than one type of fencing is applied for, or if it is a mountainous site, the type of fencing and fencing length (for each type of fencing) must also be indicated on the plan/map.

Planning permission

For most sheep fencing investments, planning permission is not required unless the plan is to erect a fence in a protected area. In a Special Area of Conservation, a National Heritage Area, a Special Protection Area or a Natura 2000 habitat, planning permission or a declaration of exemption from the relevant local authority is required for any proposed sheep fencing (whether new or replacement) before an application can be made. This was also the case in the original TAMS.

Planning permission or a declaration of exemption from the relevant local authority is also required where fencing is proposed for any upland or seaside area that has not been previously fenced or enclosed. However, planning permission is not required for new sheep fencing investments on lowland farms that do not fall into any of the areas above.

Don’t miss this week’s print edition of the Irish Farmers Journal for a full analysis of sheep fencing specifications under the TAMS II scheme