An immediate review of the reference costs in the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) is needed, according to agricultural consultant in Cavan, Tom Canning.

With the current costings being so out of date, farmers interested in the recently announced 60% slurry storage grant under TAMS are only walking away with a grant worth 46%, he maintained.

A number of advisers have also been scathing of the new slurry storage grant, which opened for applications on 28 January. Outside of the reference costs, issues around planning permission and eligibility are the two other bugbears advisers have with the scheme.

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Changes to planning regulations were expected to be in place to allow standalone slurry storage applications to bypass the requirement for planning permission.

However, this exemption is now expected to be held up until the end of 2025.

Another adviser in Cavan said that a lot of his clients who need additional storage are saying they’ll hold off in the hope that they won’t have to apply for planning.

‘False promise’

“Most lads are saying they’ll wait until the planning exemption comes in before they apply, but I don’t see that happening.

“I think it was a false promise made by the Government,” the adviser told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Meanwhile in Cork, advisers are telling farmers who want to apply for the grant to do so immediately.

“An awful lot of people are ringing up looking to put in an application for ‘that new storage scheme’ and the first question we ask is if they have planning – which they don’t.

“If you don’t have planning now it’s going to take four or five months and then by the time you’re ready you could miss out on a tranche.

“It’s unlikely that if you haven’t started your planning today that you’ll be doing that tank in 2025,” the Cork adviser said.

In terms of eligibility, advisers have also said that the requirement to already have 100% slurry storage in order to qualify for the grant makes “no sense”.