Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a brief question in regard to the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS. There appears to be a significant backlog of applications in the system, going back months or even to last year. What is the reason for this? I presume the funding is there. Is there a problem with the application process or have the criteria changed? Can the process be streamlined?