TAMs rule disqualifying grant aid on pre-approval deposits is hugely ‘unfair’

Against a background of a rise in complaints from farmers relating to the technical aspects and rules of the TAMS Scheme, the Chairperson of ICMSA’s Farm & Rural Affairs has singled out as particularly unfair the rule which specifically excludes the payment of a grant on a deposit that has been paid in advance of approval being received and the possibility of the imposition of penalties as a result.

Pat Rohan said that it was difficult to imagine a more perfect example of an excessively bureaucratic rule and one, moreover, that failed to recognise the simple practicalities around why a deposit might have to be paid.

“For example, where there are delays in approvals being issued, farmers will often be asked by contractors for deposits which they feel obliged to pay so as to ensure that the job will be completed by a specific date or within a specific time period. There are many completely legitimate and wholly understandable why deposits may have to be paid in advance of approval and ICMSA believe that the Department should change the rules to allow the payment of the grant on the deposit amount - irrespective of when the deposit has been paid.”

Mr Rohan was critical of what he called the “almost forensic examination” of receipts and timeframes and, while acknowledging that this was at the insistence of the EU, he described it as “way over the top” and called for a degree of flexibility and common sense to be applied in relation to such issues as deposits which, according to him, should form part of Commissioner Hogan’s simplification agenda.

Having specified the deposit rule as a particular flaw, Mr Rohan said that farmers need to be aware of the regulation disqualifying payment of grant aid on deposits and he urged anyone considering payment of a deposit or who had been asked for a deposit to realise fully how the system worked.