Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
805. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if, given the clear and present need to ensure energy security, his Department is planning on accepting more applications than initially expected under the TAMS 3 solar capital investment scheme; if rejected applications from farmers in County Carlow will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37167/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra806. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if, given the clear and present need to ensure energy security, his Department is planning on accepting more applications than initially expected under the TAMS 3 solar capital investment scheme; if rejected applications from farmers in County Kilkenny will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37168/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 805 and 806 together.
The Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS) is one of the eleven schemes within the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3).
SCIS has proved to be extremely popular, with payments of over €32 million issued to farmers since payments commenced in June 2024. To date, 6,086 applications have been received, with 3,447 approvals issued, allowing those farmers to proceed with their investments. Approvals are continuing to issue on eligible applications once checks have been completed.
TAMS 3 is a demand-led scheme with a defined budgetary allocation. Given that we are now over halfway through the current CAP Strategic Plan (CSP), it is prudent that we are mindful of the budget available for the remaining TAMS tranches.
In order to ensure that the available budget is distributed fairly over the remainder of the CSP programming period, it was necessary to limit the number of approved applications in recent tranches by applying ranking and selection criteria (RASS).
The table below provides a breakdown of the number of applications in SCIS that were unsuccessful in Tranche 9 and Tranche 10 in Counties Carlow and Kilkenny. Those that were unsuccessful in Tranche 9 automatically rolled over into Tranche 10 while those unsuccessful in Tranche 10 will be rolled over into Tranche 11 and will be considered again when an assessment of all tranche 11 applications takes place later this month.
Breakdown of applications unsuccessful in Tranche 9 and Tranche 10 RASS
|
COUNTY |
Tranche 9 |
Tranche 10 |
|
CARLOW |
43 |
102 |
|
KILKENNY |
82 |
193 |
The TAMS scheme will be kept under ongoing review for the remainder of the CSP based on the number of applications received and the available budget.
