Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications received, approved and that have received payments to date under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS II; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14480/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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During 2015, six new schemes were announced under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS II. These schemes were launched under the new rural development programme for 2014 to 2020 and are co-funded under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The financial allocation to each scheme for the full rural development programme period is as follows: the young farmer capital investment scheme has €120 million; the dairy equipment scheme has €50 million; the organic capital investment scheme has €8 million; the animal welfare, safety and nutrient storage scheme has €170 million; low-emission slurry spreading has €4 million; and the pig and poultry investment scheme has €17 million.

The schemes are open for applications in rolling three-month tranches. Approvals and part-approvals have issued in respect of 1,300 cases. Approvals are now issuing on an ongoing basis. The numbers of applications received in the first two tranches are as follows: the young farmer capital investment scheme saw 513 applications for tranche 1 and 620 applications for tranche 2; the dairy equipment scheme saw 1,088 applications for tranche 1 and 595 applications for tranche 2; the pig and poultry investment scheme saw 57 applications for tranche 1 and 38 applications for tranche 2; the scheme for low-emission slurry spreading saw 194 applications for tranche 1 and 263 applications for tranche 2; the animal welfare, safety and nutrient storage scheme saw 939 applications for tranche 1 and 607 applications for tranche 2; and the organic capital investment scheme saw 192 applications for tranche 1 and 99 applications for tranche 2. The total for tranche 1 is 2,983 and the total for tranche 2 is 2,222. When the number of applications received in tranche 3 to date are included, the total number of applications to date is 5,342. The TAMS information technology payment claim system is being finalised and payments will be made once the system is in place. I hope that will be ready to run in late July.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister clarify the total of part-approvals for the TAMS II applications? Based on a parliamentary question I submitted to the Minister last week, the figure was just over 1,100 part-approvals from a total of over 5,000 applications.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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It is 1,300.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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From a total of just over 5,000 applications, 1,300 is a very poor approval rate for a scheme that has been open for more than 12 months now. Many farmers were planning on investing this summer and getting works under way. They have been hampered by the fact that approvals have not been forthcoming and they are currently waiting for the Department to get back to them. The process has been much too slow and it has put the farming sector and those who are keen to invest in a position that leads to exceptional frustration. It is also putting additional pressure on farmers in trying to get works completed in a timely fashion. The work is backing up when it could be done in a more orderly way in line with the applications coming into the Department. The figure stands at 1,300 now, but when does the Minister expect the farmers who have applied to at least get initial approval so they can commence a process of investment?

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge that this has not been our finest hour, but the Deputy should consider this. It was the legitimate ambition of the Department to try to roll out as many schemes as possible at the earliest possible dates, which put significant stress on the administrative capacity of the Department. For example, it would have been easier to defer a number of these initiatives to 2017 and handle the process in a more measured way. Ambition is not a fault, and we are effectively now catching up with the backlog. There are 1,300 approvals from a total of 5,342 applications, but the applications in tranche 3 were only recently submitted. We are rolling out approvals all the time and the first payments will go out late in July. I acknowledge that in an ideal world we would have had the systems in place to deal with all the schemes from day one, but there was much pressure from individual farmers who wanted to carry out investment in early spring on dairy schemes, milking parlours and so on.

In so far as it was possible, the Department tried to accommodate all of them. It would have been easier and maybe in hindsight it was the right thing to do. I am not sure. I think it was right to have the ambition to try to bring the scheme to as many farmers as possible. We are playing catch-up but we are getting there.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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A particular problem arose under previous farm investment schemes whereby, as it came close to the end of schemes, there was a backlog in terms of the work that had to be carried out and in terms of meeting deadlines. That led to a very pressurised environment for farmers with regard to being able to get contractors and others who were required where building work was necessary. We are obviously at a different stage in terms of TAMS in that we are at the beginning of the scheme. Having said that, there are many farmers who had expected to have initial approval at this stage. It was a fair assumption for many of them to make. I acknowledge that the Minister is saying the Department has been slower than he had hoped in being able to give those approvals. What assurance can he give those who are waiting on approval at this stage that they will get it promptly? For example, where does he expect to be come July or August in respect of approvals and what assurances can he give those awaiting approval?

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Department is endeavouring to deal with this backlog sequentially, but if there are individual cases where, for particular reasons such as animal welfare, a job needs to be plucked out of the system and brought forward, the Department will look favourably on that. If there are individual cases, I am sure the Deputy would find a willing ear in the Department to deal with them. We are working through this sequentially and we are catching up with the backlog.

I suspect we will not have the type of problem Deputy McConalogue alluded to because anecdotally I am hearing that a number of people who have approval under TAMS are postponing investments for which they have approval because of the difficulty in the commodity markets, particularly in the dairy sector. Therefore, I do not expect that problem of many approved farmers chasing a limited number of contractors to occur in the short term. I do not anticipate it but it is an area that will require constant vigilance and I assure the Deputy that will be forthcoming from me and from my Department.