Applicants to Tranche 22 of TAMS Must be Included in Costings Review
IFA Rural Development Chairman Michael Biggins has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue that approval has commenced for 100% of qualified applications received by the Department under Tranche 22.
The review of the reference costings for grant-aided work under TAMS was carried out by the Department in March and was based on analysis of the costs of completed works up to the end of March. The review is being implemented from the opening of Tranche 23, which commenced on July 24th.
The Rural Development Chairman said, “All Tranche 22 applicants must be offered the revised reference costing rates. Not to do so will put them at a substantial financial disadvantage”.
“Materials such as steel, timber and concrete have seen steep increases this year. The impact of a costings increase means that a farmer will get a more realistic rate of grant relative to actual investment costs incurred,” he said.
To keep pace with continuing rising costs, this review must be ongoing and ready to be updated for the opening of Tranche 24, which is due to open on November 6th.
“I’m calling on the Minister of Agriculture to ensure all applicants in Tranche 22 get the opportunity to retrospectively avail of the revised costings. He must also ensure that the costings are reviewed again for Tranche 24 to keep pace with current price inflation,” he said.
