The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said it intends to introduce the slurry storage scheme with a 70% grant aid under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) “shortly”.
The comments were made by the assistant secretary of rural development and forestry with the DAFM, Paul Savage at a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine yesterday (Wednesday, July 3).
The DAFM has been developing the terms and conditions of the nutrient importation scheme and hopes to finalise these “very soon”, Savage said in response to Fine Gael’s agriculture spokesperson in the Seanad, Tim Lombard.
Earlier this year, the European Commission approved an amendment to Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan which allows the inclusion of the new Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme (NISS) under TAMS.
Nutrient excretion rates
Senator Lombard also raised a question in relation to the regulation that’s currently in place to make sure people can qualify for the 70% grant aid for slurry storage under TAMS.
Savage clarified that the DAFM can’t use TAMS to support people to comply with the legislative requirements, and therefore the 70% grant aid “will only be available to those that already comply with the requirements”.
“The issue there is around people making sure that they are in compliance in the first place before they seek to secure additional storage capacity through TAMS.”
Raising the issue of water quality, the senator said there is a “potential” for changes to organic excretion rate limits which could “put the majority of farmers under pressure” and see them move from being compliant to non-compliant.
Principal officer with the DAFM, John Muldowney said this is something that the DAFM is “watching closely”. He added that within Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan, “we are allowed flexibility”.
“For funding that’s received there, we have a two-year lag phase so if there is any change in standards, that means someone falls behind in the compliance, they have a two-year window then to become compliant and to be paid to meet that compliance,” he said.
Slurry storage scheme
Senator Lombard asked the assistant secretary how the DAFM intends to promote the slurry storage scheme and to achieve farmer uptake, as well as what proposals it has in order to engage directly with the tillage sector in particular.
Savage told the Oireachtas committee that “in the normal course of events”, the nutrient importation scheme will be announced and publicised when it becomes available.
“We will engage in the normal way and we will be endeavoring to make sure that people are fully aware of the provisions of the scheme, and anybody who is interested in participating has the opportunity to do so,” Savage said.
He added that the DAFM is “happy” to engage with stakeholders as appropriate in terms of scheme details and how it will ensure people understand the contents of the scheme and how they can go about participating in it.
The DAFM will then “wait and see” what the reaction to the scheme is and what the uptake of the scheme will be. As with other schemes, he said the DAFM will respond accordingly should any issues or queries arise by industry or the sector.