Q. Do I need to have recorded the presence or activity of badgers with the Department of Agriculture and Food to be eligible for the scheme?

A. The terms and conditions of the scheme only list two eligibility criteria – an applicant must have submitted a Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application in 2025 and have livestock on their holding at the time of application in 2026. However, if applying for grant aid to fence a badger sett, then the location of all badger setts being fenced under this scheme must be identified on the Department’s BISS Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS).

Q. What items are eligible for grant aid?

A. A financial contribution will be made by the Department to farmers through approved co-ops and agri-retail merchants for the purchase of suitable water and feeding troughs, and fencing materials for best practice badger biosecurity (to fence off access from bovines to badger setts).

Q. Can I purchase items or materials in any co-op?

A. Co-ops must be registered to participate with the Department of Agriculture. A list can be found at www.bovinetb.ie.

Q. What is the maximum grant aid that I can draw down?

A. Grant aid will be paid at 40% of expenditure on eligible materials to a maximum investment of €2,000 excluding VAT. This means the maximum grant aid available is €800. The minimum investment under the scheme is €500, ie grant aid of €200.

Q. What is the required level of fencing around a badger sett?

A. The objective of fencing is to keep bovines from the area surrounding the opening of the badger sett. The fence must be erected at least 3.5m from the opening of the sett. If the sett is large, with a number of openings, then it is advised to erect the fence a distance of greater than 3.5m from the openings. The fence must contain at least two strands of wire, as outlined in Table 1.

Q. Is there a maximum length of fencing that can be claimed?

A. There is no specified length of fencing in the terms and conditions. The level of fencing purchased should broadly correlate to the number of badger setts recorded on the BISS LPIS system.

Q. Is there any information regarding the maximum size of water troughs or feeding troughs that can be purchased?

A. The terms and conditions do not state a maximum or minimum size of water or feed trough which can be purchased. The only stipulation regarding water troughs is that they are a minimum of 0.9m in height, as detailed in Table 1, while the minimum height for feed troughs is 0.6m.

Q. Can water troughs be positioned anywhere in the field?

A. The terms and conditions state that where a badger sett is present, then the water trough should not be positioned within 50m of a badger sett.

Q. What proof do I need to provide to the Department to get the 40% payment?

A. There is no payment made to the applicant, instead the 40% grant aid is paid to the co-op or agri-retail merchant at the point of purchase. The applicant must present the approval letter at the time of purchase to prove that they are eligible for the 40% reduction. The co-op/agri-merchant then completes a sale declaration form (available on www.bovinetb.ie), which is signed by both parties and certified by the co-op/agri-retail merchant. This is retained by the latter as the basis for its payment claim. In some circumstances, the Department may request geotagged photographic evidence of the location of the eligible items purchased under this scheme.

Q. Is the application process through the Agfood.ie portal?

A. No, the application process is completed by filling out an application form which can be found at www.bovinetb.ie and then emailing it to RAHBio@agriculture.gov.ie.

Q. When is the closing date of the scheme?

A. The deadline for applications is 31 May 2026.

Q. Can I purchase materials before I receive an approval letter?

A. The window for purchasing items or materials is from 1 July to 31 August 2026. A purchase can only be made where a farmer presents an approval letter to a participating co-op/agri-merchant.

Q. What happens if there are too many applications to the scheme – will there be ranking and selection?

A. No, the 7,500 applications will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

Q. Can I submit more than one application?

A. No, only one application can be submitted per herd owner.

Q. What details must a co-op submit on the submission record?

A. The submission, which is completed in one single electronic submission, must include the herd number and name of each participating farmer, the approval number, date of sale of troughs and fencing materials to the farmer, dimensions of the feeding / water troughs supplied or details of fencing materials supplied along with the total cost of the investment.