Dribble bar slurry spreaders have been officially ruled out of the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue.

Responding to a parliamentary question from Matt Carty TD, Minister McConalogue said he has decided dribble bars will not be eligible under TAMS III, after earlier hopes of its reintroduction.

“Due to the emissions reduction differential between dribble bar and trailing shoe and the need to meet Ireland's national ammonia ceiling under the national emissions ceiling directive, I have decided that the dribble bar will not be available for grant aid under TAMS III.

“With regard to the suitability on certain land holdings, it should be noted that the weight difference between trailing hose (dribble bar) attachments and trailing shoe attachments is small, depending upon the design of the attachment.

“The lightest trailing hose (dribble bar) attachments start at around 410kg, while the lightest trailing shoe attachments start at around 450kg,” he said.

Dribble bars for low emissions slurry spreading (LESS) are cheaper and more widely used than trailing shoes.

Background

The long-running issue around dribble bars being excluded under TAMS first arose when the scheme opened in February 2023.

Following outrage from farmers, Minister McConalogue held meetings with machinery trade bosses on the move. Research on ammonia emissions from trailing shoes and dribble bars was a central focus.

Previous research had indicated that trailing shoes emitted marginally less ammonia than dribble bars, which was then disputed by unpublished research which put them at the same level.

The Minister said at the time he would consider the matter and was open to including dribble bars, which had been his stance until now.