Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to the House this afternoon. I appreciate that the senior Minister has taken time out of his busy schedule to deal with this Commencement matter which states that there needs to be a review of the grant reference costings from the Department when it comes to the allocation of TAMS grants, in particular as they relate to building projects. I raise this because of one instance I am aware of where a farmer is developing a shed. The Department estimates the price, on which the farmer will get his grant, is in the region of €63,000. After a lot of negotiation, price comparison, haggling and so on, the cheapest he can get that job done for is €93,000. That is a massive gulf. The difference in the 60% grant on the Department costing and what the farmer will spend means it is more like he will be getting a 41% grant. There is a difference for him in what he will spend of more than €17,000. It is an issue for another day, but you can couple that with some of the VAT implications that have arisen recently because of the view Revenue has taken. That is along with the fact that when farmers go to the banks to get their investment side of these projects, most banks do the stress test based on a 170 stocking rate. In a worst case scenario, even if a farmer has a higher stocking rate they are looking at a potential reduction in the future, but we will not go there. They are doing that stress test based on 170.

When I heard those figures it was hard for me to believe there could be such a gap between the actual and reference costings. I did some research yesterday with a concrete company. The last time these prices were reviewed, one could buy a cube of 35N concrete for anywhere between €65 and €75. That is now coming in at between €120 and €130 per cube. That is an increase of 80%. Again, when I inquired on pricing in the steel side of things, which would be the second biggest component in any shed development project, the increase since the last review in 2021 is anywhere between 25% and 30% for cladding, steel and all of the major inputs.

The Minister can see there is a massive gulf. My problem is I think this might be inhibiting a lot of farmers from doing necessary development, which in fairness they are on the whole doing for the betterment of the environment.We do not want a situation where necessary development that will improve the lot of farmers and the welfare of their flocks and that of the overall environment is delayed. Projects could be shelved because of the extra cost. As I said, based on the costings relating to this particular job, the 60% grant equates to 41%. For a person getting a 40% grant, it equates to 28%. While the spend on the job I mentioned should be €36,000, it will actually be €54,000. That is a massive gulf.

I hope the Minister has good news for me. There is a need for an immediate review because it is becoming too onerous a task. It is too expensive and is not feasible for many farmers to carry out necessary projects which, as I said, will benefit not only their lifestyles and workloads but also the environment and the welfare of their animals.