Thomas Lyons 
The National Liming Programme, a new €8 million scheme aimed at helping farmers to offset the cost of using lime, received just under 41,000 applications before its deadline on April 20, 2023. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed the figures, which showed that if all of the 4.5 million tonnes of lime sought was approved and claimed by farmers, it would require a budget of more than €72 million at a payment rate of €16/t. The average tonnage sought per applicant under the liming programme is just over 111t.
According to Agriland, Cork was the county with the highest number of applications at 4,921, followed by Galway on 4,566 and Mayo with 4,179 applications. The county with the lowest number of farmers seeking to avail of the payment was Dublin, with just 107 applications. The DAFM received a total of 40,959 applications from farmers for the new scheme. A county-by-county breakdown of the number of applications made to DAFM under the scheme is provided in the table below.
County | Total applications
Carlow | 602
Cavan | 1,991
Clare | 1,396
Cork | 4,921
Donegal | 2,966
Dublin | 107
Galway | 4,566
Kerry | 2,460
Kildare | 321
Kilkenny | 875
Laois | 593
Leitrim | 869
Limerick | 1,147
Longford | 1,164
Louth | 381
Mayo | 4,179
Meath | 1,418
Monaghan | 1,201
Offaly | 356
Roscommon | 2,082
Sligo | 1,595
Tipperary | 1,830
Waterford | 655
Westmeath | 1,281
Wexford | 1,240
Wicklow | 763
TOTAL | 40,959
A spokesperson for the department said that all applicants who meet the eligibility requirements set down in the terms and conditions for the National Liming Programme will be accepted into the scheme. However, the approved quantities of ground limestone will have to reflect the available budget for the programme. “Each successful applicant will be contacted directly by DAFM in the coming weeks, outlining the quantity of lime they are eligible to receive aid on,” the spokesperson added.
