TAMS stands for ‘Total Absolute Mayhem Scheme’ says ICMSA

The Chairperson of the ICMSA’s Farm Business Committee, Pat O’Brien, has echoed the growing frustration among farmers over the TAMS rank and selection process.  He said that “at this stage” ICMSA was probably taking as many irate phone calls as Johnstown Castle from farmers unable to work out where they stood on the “impenetrable” TAMS ranking system.

 “We are receiving a huge number of calls from farmers who haven’t got in through this ‘Rank and Selection’ process.   Farmers who worked extremely hard to build up their stock numbers are now left in Limbo because they can’t access grant aid for slurry storage, solar and many other investment items.  Mr. O’Brien pointed to what he called the “crazy administrative Catch 22” that was applied to slurry storage.

 “The very farmers who want to build tanks to grant specification so that they will stand the test of time and they also need these tanks so that they can comply with the new storage requirements are the very cohort being penalised under ‘Rank and Selection’ for their high stocking rate. Effectively, we have a system that is telling farmers with these stocking rates that they need extra slurry storage and then – in the same breath – penalising them and nudging them down the eligibility scorecard because they are at the stocking rate that says they need more slurry storage. It’s classic Catch 22”, said Mr. O’Brien.   

 Noting that ICMSA is also deeply concerned about the length of time applications are taking to be processed, Mr. O’Brien said that the Department must learn lessons from the undeniable shambles that is the current TAMS system.  

“I don’t know what the point is of going around proclaiming that TAMS is a success when all the evidence proves otherwise. A farmer applying for solar has a one-in-10 chance of success. Who could think that a 10% rate could constitute a success and the idea that this amounts to supporting the sector is a bad joke.  This is the most critical interface between farming and Environment and it’s really disappointing to see the mess that the Department has made here. At farm representative level, it’s widely understood that TAMS really stands for ‘Total Absolute Mayhem Scheme’ and that’s a damning indictment on a concept that could have played a crucial role transitioning farming towards a better environmental profile”, he continued.

“We’d be happy to work with the Department on getting this scheme someway operational and forward moving if they wanted and the very first thing we’d suggest is the public abandonment of the absurd and impenetrable ‘Rank and Selection’ system they operate at present and which no-one can understand”, he concluded.

 Ends    23 April 2026

Pat O’Brien, 087-4904424

Chairperson, ICMSA Farm Business Committee

Or

Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office