The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD and Minister of State Tom Hayes TD have announced the opening of the new Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme which is the first of the new Targeted Modernisation Schemes (TAMS II) to be launched under the new Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020. The Scheme is co-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

Speaking today on the farm of Edward Butler in Danesfort, Co. Kilkenny Minister Coveney said “I am delighted to announce the opening of this very important Scheme which offers eligible young farmers a special rate of aid of 60 per cent of investment costs, compared to the standard rate of 40 per cent which will be generally available to other farmers.”

The specific areas of investment will include animal housing, slurry storage, dairy equipment, specialised slurry spreading equipment, animal welfare & farm safety, and specialised pig & poultry investments.  In addition, young farmers will be able to avail of grant-aid for construction of new dairy buildings.

Farmers must be below 40 years of age at the time of application and have been set up in farming within the previous five years. While the EU regulations contain some limitations regarding the categories of farmers which may be regarded as eligible for the scheme, the intention is to ensure that as many young farmers as possible can avail of the enhanced grant scheme. 

Speaking at the launch Minister Hayes said “I would encourage all young farmers to examine the provisions of the new scheme very carefully to see if they are entitled to the increased rate of aid.   I am confident that this new scheme will provide a genuine platform for a significant level of investment on holdings recently taken over by young farmers in Ireland,”

The total allocation for the various on farm investment schemes planned under TAMS II, including the Young Farmer Investment scheme, is €395m over the course of the programme.  Ministers Coveney and Hayes announced today that an indicative allocation of €120m was being made available to young farmers under the terms of the new Scheme over the full RDP period.  

All applications must be made on-line, either by the farmer or by an adviser authorised to act on his or her behalf. The facility for farmers and advisers to rapidly link via SMS texting is now available, and the online system will open for applications from the 28^th of May.  The closing date for applications under the first tranche of the new scheme will be Friday 28 August 2015.

Minister Coveney said he would be making further announcements in the coming weeks on the launch of the remaining TAMS Schemes, including the new Dairy Equipment Scheme which is also being prioritised for early opening.

View Press Release as a PDF:  DAFMPR 84/2015 (pdf 389Kb) 

Date Released: 14 May 2015