Longford Farming: TAMS silence deafening

IFA National Rural Development Chair Michael Biggins has called on Minister McConalogue and the Department to end the silence and clarify where farmers stand with TAMS applications.

“At the minute, there are thousands of farmers around the country who have made applications for TAMS that have no idea whether or not they have been approved, never mind when they might hope to start works or be paid for it. It’s madness altogether and creating huge frustration, particularly among farmers tight on animal housing or slurry storage for the coming winter,” Michael Biggins said.

“The Department were quick enough to extend the Tranche 1 deadline because their release schedule of new TAMS schemes proved slower than anticipated. But now we are into the middle of August and farmers are in complete limbo. It’s just not good enough,” he said.