The Irish Farmers Journal has received contact from farmers and planners raising concerns relating to sheep fencing grant aid under TAMS II.

The concerns raised relate to applications made under tranche three, with a number of farmers reporting they have been told applications submitted are not eligible for grant aid as they do not possess sheep on the farm.

This is not holding up every application. Planners dealing with farmers who possessed sheep when applications were made have received approval to commence works.

While possessing sheep was an eligibility criteria in TAMS I, it was not included as a criteria in the terms and conditions of TAMS II.

Planners are now concerned that a similar approach will be applied to tranche four, with more applications deemed ineligible.

In response to an Irish Farmers Journal query seeking clarification on the matter, a Department spokesperson said: “The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has indicated that it is open to any applicant dissatisfied with a decision regarding a TAMS II approval to request a review of that decision by writing to TAMS division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Johnstown Castle, Wexford, including any supporting documentation or information they may wish to submit.”

IFA response

IFA rural development chair Joe Brady said: “When the TAMS II sheep fencing scheme was introduced in early June, farmers who applied and who did not have sheep were not told that they had to have sheep at the time of application. It is not acceptable that the Department has changed the rules whereby farmers must have sheep at time of application.

“Provision must be made for new entrants to sheep as well as farmers who have commonage and have to keep sheep for the sustainable stocking level required.

“Changing the goalposts is not acceptable and the IFA has called on the Department to clarify the situation,” he said.

Meanwhile, DAFM secretary general Aidan O’Driscoll made a comment while presenting to the Oireachtas Ag Committee that the time frame to complete TAMS applications may have to be reduced from the current allowance of three years. Responding to the Irish Farmers Journal, a DAFM spokesperson said: “In order to ensure greater budgetary certainty, this issue is being considered in respect of future approvals. However, no decision has been made.”

BVD PIs falling

The number of persistently infected (PI) calves identified as part of the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) national eradication programme continues to show improvement.

Results published at www.animalhealthireland.ie show 3,422, or 0.16% of 2,143,028 calves tested to date, identified as PIs.

This compares with 6,904, or 0.33% of calves, in 2015.

From PIs born in 2016, 3,008 from the 3,422 identified have been recorded as dead, with 144 herds still retaining PI animals.

This compares favourably to 573 herds for the same period in 2015, but still presents challenges in the absence of more stringent rules, such as compulsory eradication in getting all PI animals removed from farms.