Cash limits in grant schemes overhaul

THE “first-come, first served” principle for grant aid has been dropped by the Department of Agriculture for all future schemes.

Following a radical overhaul, all new schemes introduced will be subject to cash limits, careful evaluation of scheme applications and the application of selection criteria to ensure better targeting.

The secretary-general of the department, Tom Moran, said: “This approach will ensure the targeting of schemes towards particular groups of farmers, with a view to obtaining optimum value for money. This approach also will guarantee that in future, the financial ceilings fixed for schemes cannot be exceeded.”

The cash limit and targeted participation applies to the department’s recently launched agri-environment options scheme (AEOS), and new schemes on the way for on-farm investment in the pig welfare, poultry welfare, sheep handling and fencing, water harvesting and dairy equipment areas.

There have been about 8,000 AEOS applications.

In other schemes, Mr Moran said only five early retirement applications remain to be processed, out of 175 applications on hand when the early retirement and installation aid schemes were closed in 2008.