Approvals for tranche 5 of TAMS III are ongoing, with 4,286 of the 5,823 applications approved as of Monday 12 May. This figure stood at just 795 applications on 23 March, showing an increase of 3,491 application approvals in seven weeks, or an average just shy of 500 applications per week.

As has continued to be the trend with other tranches, the Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) and the Tillage Capital Investment Scheme (TCIS) – with their lesser amount of paper work – have seen the highest number of early approvals, while the Solar Capital Investment Scheme (SCIS) is still recording low approval numbers, with just 32.2% of applications submitted under tranche 5 approved so far.

Approval rates for the remainder of the applications will likely slow, but the majority of applicants without major queries should see their application approved by month end. As has been the case with other tranches, 200-300 applications will be carried forward and approved alongside tranche 6, which closed for applications on 6 March.

Applicants are being reminded to check queries on applications and reply in a timely manner to speed up the processing of their application. The Department envisages a three-month window, as was the timeline in TAMS II, for applications in the near future, according to Robert Leonard, who spoke recently at the Farm Buildings Forum hosted by Teagasc and the Irish Farm Buildings Association.