Meal bins have been added as an eligible investment for beef, sheep, pigs and poultry farmers in the current round of TAMS funding.

The current tranche of TAMS II opened on 8 December and will close on 5 April 2019.

Grant aid of 40% is available to general applicants and this increases to 60% for young farmers.

The reference cost is based on the capacity of the bin. For a bin on an existing base then the reference cost is equal to 68.5 multiplied by the capacity in m3, plus €1,900. So for a bin with 7m3 capacity, the reference cost would be 68.5(7) + 1,900 = €2,379.50 (excluding VAT).

Technically as it is a moveable object planning permission is not needed for grant aid for meal bins but if it is above 8m or near a road it may be required and it is advised to check with your local county council

As a rough guide to get the required tonnage, multiply the tonnage by 1.39 to get the required volume. If you wanted a bin to store 5t then you would need one with a capacity for approximately 7m3 (5t x 1.39 = 6.75 ˜ 7m3).

Only meal bins that are pre-painted are accepted for grant aid, unless they are being installed in an existing building.

However, there are additional costs to be aware of. For a 5t bin outlined above we were quoted €2,400 (plus VAT) for the bin from a popular meal bin manufacturer, there was an additional cost of €300 to get this painted and a delivery cost of €250 to €800 depending where in the country it was being delivered to.

Technically as it is a moveable object planning permission is not needed for grant aid for meal bins but if it is above 8m or near a road it may be required and it is advised to check with your local county council.

Meal bins must be bolted to a minimum 3m by 3m, 250mm thick 37N concrete base. Higher levels of grant are available for a split meal bin.