Farmers have received approval for TAMS II investments which will utilise half of the €395m total funding earmarked for the seven-year scheme.

However, because the vast majority of these projects are not completed, the amount of money actually paid out to date stands at just 6% of the total pool.

The figures are examined in the review of TAMS II published last week by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER).

There have been eight tranches of applications so far. Farmers who got approval from tranches one to five were given three years from the date of approval to complete investment work and draw down grant aid.

However, in a move to halt the growing underspend in the scheme, the Department of Agriculture shortened the completion window for all applicants from tranche six onwards. These farmers must complete the drawdown of funding within either six or 12 months from the date of approval, depending on investment type. The review notes that:

  • €34.6m of the outstanding approvals will have expired by the end of 2018 as they are from tranches six and seven.
  • €54.5m of the approved applications that have yet to be drawn down will have expired by the end of 2019 as they were approved in 2016 from tranches one to five.
  • €69.8m of outstanding approved applications will have expired by end-2020 as they were approved in 2017 from tranches one to five.
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