Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ensure a spell check is conducted on all texts. I agree that stronger prices are necessary. As we know, at farm level, those stronger prices are being mirrored by increased input costs and, unfortunately, in particular in the beef sector, they have not resulted in increased profits. The TB scheme has impacted in terms of the cost of compensation and that is reflected in the Estimate.

You say, Chairman, that forestry is something the committee has put a significant focus on in the past year. It is also something on which the Department has put a very significant focus because we have had challenges to address. We have worked very hard to resolve the licensing backlog that was there when the Government took office, which had emerged from a court decision that significantly changed the amount of time involved in assessing each licence and, therefore, led to a backlog. That had to be addressed by increasing the staffing complement to ensure licences would be dealt with appropriately, and also to deal with the existing backlog. We have now gone from a situation where in mid-2021 we had a backlog of more than 6,000 licences to around 1,500 now. We have significantly increased afforestation licensing and felling licences this year. We are on course to have the largest area ever licensed for felling by the end of the year. Thankfully, that is significantly addressing the situation and every week we continue to progress the removal of the backlog to a stage where we are at an equilibrium, whereby only the current applications in hand are being processed.

What we need to do now is to turn the dial and see a significant step change in regard to the take-up of forestry by farmers. Today, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and I brought to the Cabinet details on the updated afforestation rates. They are very significant and will cause farmers to stop and consider the potential to incorporate forestry into their farm and to have a separate income stream coming forth from that. The change in the payment of premiums from 15 years to 20 years is significant and will cause people to really think about it. If we take the example of afforestation rates for plantations of native trees, per hectare, there will be an annual premium of more than €1,100 a year for 20 years, which is €22,000, that a farmer can expect in income from premiums when he plants the land. That is in addition to the plantation grant that a farmer will receive, which is expected to cover the cost of planting. The other key point is that the €22,000 is tax free. That is a significant incentive that offers real opportunities to farmers to look at areas of their farm on which they can incorporate forestry that would make sense from the point of view of their farm and be significant in terms of the income potential. It would also help to deliver on the biodiversity challenges and climate targets we have. It is a very significant programme and we will encourage farmers to look at it and to examine the potential of individual farms to incorporate forestry.

Ash dieback is an issue we have discussed on a number of occasions in the committee. The Department is considering the approach in regard to it. There is a scheme in place and there have been many representations from you, Chairman, and others on the need to revisit it, which is something on which we are reflecting.

The National Stud is a very significant and successful business model, service and also tourist attraction. A big part of its income over the years has come from Invincible Spirit, who has been a very successful stallion that has been in service for much longer than expected, but he is coming to retirement. The National Stud has a strong strategic plan, one that merits our backing, in terms of the once-off share capital increase to support it. That is why we are investing in that. I have no doubt the National Stud would welcome an opportunity to engage with the committee as well on the merits of the work it is doing.

On the loan scheme, it is established based on the lenders' proposal for participating in the scheme. We have signed off now on a new capital allocation and this Revised Estimate is facilitating that. It will be set by the lenders based on the proposals they are putting in place, but it will be significantly below what the market price would be.