Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Today, we are dealing with current expenditure rather than capital expenditure like TAMS. There is no doubt we have a challenge with TAMS. There is no issue on the Department's side with TAMS payments. The issue relates to delays in the submission of claims data. We are issuing approvals for farmers in respect of the tranche 8 of TAMS, which is the latest tranche. The provision we have made on the capital side in the current year is more than the amount that will be actually drawn down on the capital side. We have a capacity to carry more than €24 million in capital from one year to the next. We have issued approvals, but some farmers have not applied for one reason or another. They might not apply for good reasons; for example, they might not be in a financial position to carry out the works at a given time. Since tranche 6 or tranche 7, we have been making the approvals subject to timelines. There is a 12-month approval for buildings and a six-month approval for plants. We have done this to improve our capacity to manage the cashflow in the Department. In that context, there is provision for applicants to reapply when the timeline is exhausted or to apply for an extension of the works that have commenced but not concluded.