55-year-old age limit for higher rate TAMS scrapped for women
The Women in Agriculture Stakeholders Group (), had lobbied for the 55-year-old limit to be lifted, warning it meant the measure left out more women than it supported. Picture: iStock/Getty Images
Plans to limit the upper age at which women will be eligible for a higher rate of TAMS payment to 55 have been scrapped, with the age limit now increased to match the state pension age of 66.
The Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) grant offers up to 40% of the cost of certain farm investments.
Young farmers were already eligible for a higher 60% rate, which will now also apply to “trained” female farmers aged between 41 and 66, as part of measures to improve gender equality in the industry.
Other supports include the option of female-only Knowledge Transfer groups and EIPs with a focus on improving inclusivity.
The Women in Agriculture Stakeholders Group (), a group founded in July to represent the interests of Irish farming women, had lobbied for the 55-year-old limit to be lifted, warning it meant the measure left out more women than it supported.
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Vanessa Kiely O’Connor, the representative of the group, said the increased age limit would be welcomed by the many women who had contacted the group.
“These measures are just the first step in ensuring that the work of women is officially recognised on farms,” Chairman Hannah Quinn-Mulligan said.
“We know from CSO figures that 70,000 women work on farms every day and it’s time the work of those women was officially valued.
"We hope that farmers will see the benefit of having a woman in an official farm partnership and recognise that the 60% TAMS grant women bring to the table will strengthen family farms.”
Figures obtained by the group show that less than 4% of TAMS went to women, with fewer than 500 women under 35 receiving farm payments.
