Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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586. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why is there an absence of grant aid for farmers with the traditional working horse (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24238/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) provides funding for capital investments on farms and will be in place for five years. There are a range of new improvements to TAMS including increased grant aid rates, investment ceilings, new investments, and new support categories which will align it more with the priorities in agriculture including environmental , renewable energy and facilitating farm modernisation.

Farmers using a traditional working horse are eligible for TAMS funding for stables and all other equine investments that are included in TAMS 3. TAMS 3 is intended for farm modernisation, improving competitiveness and working and production conditions on farms rather than supporting traditional systems of operation and as such supports for horse powered farming equipment are outside the scope of scheme.

It is proposed to introduce an Innovative Forest Technology Scheme in the next Forestry Programme, of which ‘Element 3: Forest Machinery Grant’, will provide support to a maximum of €50,000 per project for four projects per year.

It is planned that this measure will provide grant support for the purchase of new forest machinery with optimal fuel consumption and environmental performance and could include projects that use horse drawn timber extraction methods. The measure will also support the purchase of cable timber extraction systems for use on steep and soft site types and will not apply to harvesting and forwarding machines.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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587. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if grant aid will be made available in the interest of animal welfare for the heavy horse working harness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24239/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) provides funding for capital investments on farms and will be in place for five years. There are a range of new improvements to TAMS including increased grant aid rates, investment ceilings, new investments, and new support categories which will align it more with the priorities in agriculture including environmental , renewable energy and facilitating farm modernisation.

Farmers using a traditional working horse are eligible for TAMS funding for stables and all other equine investments that are included in TAMS 3. TAMS 3 is intended for farm modernisation, improving competitiveness and working and production conditions on farms rather than supporting traditional systems of operation and as such supports for horse powered farming equipment are outside the scope of scheme.