Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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76. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will increase TAMS funding to reflect the rising cost of construction and construction related materials. [38527/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the impacts of rising costs of inflation and my Department monitors these issues closely.

This includes the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) where we have undertaken a number of reviews of its reference costs during the lifetime of the scheme. Another full review of the reference costs in the scheme has recently concluded and was undertaken by my Department.

As a result of this, I have increased reference costs under the scheme with increases ranging from 5-15% across the investment items listed under TAMS. These changes have been implemented from the opening of Tranche 26 on 9th April 2022. These are in addition to increases of 5-20% on costings already introduced in July 2021. This is the third increase to be implemented in costs in the last 3 years.

Tranche 26 of TAMS closed on 1st July 2022, with Tranche 27 opening on the 2nd July. It is open to individual applicants to withdraw an application under the scheme prior to its approval and submit a revised application, should they decide that they wish to avail of the increased reference costs.