"2018 has seen a significant acceleration on the spend with €9.3m paid out this year to date," Minister Creed told the Dáil this week.

This compares with €31.3 m for the whole of last year. The TAMS II farm investment scheme showed significant underspend compared to allocated budgets in the past two years as it took farmers a long time to obtain initial approval from the Department of Agriculture for projects, and many investments were subsequently delayed during the milk price crash.

There are now 13,000 approved investment projects under the scheme. However, "payments cannot issue until the approved works have been completed and a payment claim is submitted to the online system," Minister Creed explained.

Storm Emma

Following damage to farm buildings during Storm Emma last week, the minister also hinted at possible assistance under TAMS II.

"In order to respond where possible to the issue of structural damage, I believe that it is appropriate to consider what aspects can be addressed through on-farm investment support schemes operated by my Department and I have asked my officials to examine this as a matter of urgency," he said.

New items eligible under TAMS

'Significant acceleration' in TAMS spending

Payments under the TAMS II scheme are now running at €1m per week and the scheme could cover storm damage repairs, according to Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed.