DEAR SIR: While I welcome the increase of grant aid on TAMS Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) equipment up to 60%, it will still cost the average farmer a significant amount of money to upgrade their slurry tanker to a trailing shoe.

As the grant only covers the net amount and not the VAT, a farmer purchasing a 2,000 gallon tank at a cost of €40,000 plus 23% VAT will get a €24,000 grant and will still have to spend €25,200, as most livestock farmers are not VAT registered.

The payback for these farmers will be quite slow. Contractors are not always an option during the busy silage season and most farmers need a tank to do some or all of the work. If the Government is serious about meeting ammonia targets, VAT must be removed from these machines and accelerated capital allowances introduced to allow them to be depreciated over one year.

Finally, I would call on the minister to include the dribble bar, as it is much more suitable to hills and uneven fields, which cover vast areas of our countryside.