ICMSA welcome Department decision on pre TAMS-approval investments
ICMSA welcomed the decision of the Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine regarding deposits paid on investments prior to TAMS approval. Up to this point, farmers who had paid a deposit in advance of approval not only did not get paid a grant on the deposit element, but also suffered a penalty on the remaining part of the investment. ICMSA believed that this regulation was extremely harsh on farmers and did not reflect the practical realities of such investments where farmers simply had to pay deposits in advance in many cases simply to ensure that a contractor was available at a specific time. ICMSA had raised this issue with the Department on a number of occasion and Mr. McCormack said, that he was pleased that the Department had now amended this rule in light of the concerns raised.
“Under the revised arrangements as indicated by the Department, farmers will no longer need to wait for approval before paying deposits. Any deposit paid after an application for TAMS has been submitted is now eligible for grant aid. This change is very positive and brings a necessary level of reality and flexibility to the scheme In relation to claims already made - where farmers have suffered a penalty for paying a deposit before approval – we’ve asked the Department to review these claims and apply the new rules to these cases. ICMSA believe that these farmers acted in good faith and simply made a genuine and completely understandable error that the Department should accept and refund the penalties levied”, said Mr McCormack.