2601. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department and the Government support additional TAMS funding in the upcoming budget in order to increase capacity for slurry storage, due to high levels of rainfall during winter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57265/26]

The Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) which is a key element of the current CAP Strategic Plan provides grants to farmers to invest in their farm businesses through building and/or improving a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holdings.

TAMS 3 has proved to be extremely popular, with payments of over €178 million issued to farmers since payments commenced in June 2024. Given that we are now well 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. Therefore, in order to ensure that the defined budget is distributed fairly over the remainder of the CSP, it has been necessary to limit the number of approved applications in recent tranches by applying ranking and selection criteria. This will be kept under ongoing review for the remainder of the CSP.

Specifically for nutrient storage investments have prioritised this measure in TAMS 3, in January 2025, I introduced an enhanced 60% grant rate and a dedicated ring-fenced ceiling for Nutrient Storage investments under TAMS 3. Since then, I have also introduced amendments to the ranking and selection criteria, whereby applications submitted in respect of nutrient storage investments are prioritised.

Funding for TAMS investments will form part of the overall budgetary process, however I am satisfied that the changes I have recently introduced prioritising nutrient storage measures will ensure there is a increased support for these measures on Irish farms with a continued positive impact on water quality.