Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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547. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers that received an advanced ACRES payment in each county; the number within each county for which a clawback demand has been sought, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36250/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I will respond to the Deputy directly when the information requested has been compiled.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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548. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason dribble bar low-emission slurry spreader equipment is not eligible for TAMS funding; if he will review this, given that this equipment is the most appropriate for some land holdings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36251/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) is an important, environmentally sustainable technology that will facilitate Ireland in meeting its environmental commitments through reductions in ammonia and other reactive nitrogen emissions from soil.

Due to the emissions reduction differential between dribble bar and trailing shoe, and the need to meet Ireland's national ammonia ceiling under the National emissions ceiling directive, I have decided that the dribble bar will not be available for grant aid under TAMS 3.

With regard to the suitability on certain land holdings, it should be noted that the weight difference between trailing hose (dribble bar) attachments and trailing shoe attachments is small, depending upon the design of the attachment. The lightest trailing hose (dribble bar) attachments start at around 410 kg, while the lightest trailing shoe attachments start at around 450 kg.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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549. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he intends to review and amend the reference costs for eligible items for TAMS funding, given that in several instances the current reference costs are well below the actual costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36252/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Following the success of TAMS II, I significantly increased the number of investment items available under TAMS 3. I also increased the reference costs as appropriate across all schemes, based on a review carried out in late 2022/early 2023.

The reference costs are updated periodically to ensure that they reflect actual/market costs for the construction of farm buildings and facilities, and for farm equipment. To achieve this objective, the review of the reference costs is based on a comparison with receipted costs. For an effective comparison, an adequate number of receipted claims are required.

Currently, the number of claims submitted for completed structures in TAMS 3 is insufficient to conduct a full analysis. A further review of the reference costs is expected to take place over the coming months, with a publication of the revised costs likely in mid-2025.