Senator Pippa Hackett:

I thank the Deputy. At the committee to which he refers, I believe what the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, was referring to was the number of afforestation licences approved at that time. That would have been in the region of 1,000 ha. That is the intent for people to plant. They requested these afforestation licences under this interim phase with the intention of planting those trees. I hope, and indeed expect, that all 1,000 ha and more will be planted under the interim arrangements. In the meantime my Department officials are incredibly busy. To get this State aid approval piece concluded is an incredibly complex process. Officials were in Brussels yesterday meeting with the European Commission on this. I am hopeful we will be making our formal submission in a matter of weeks. A great deal of work has been done behind the scenes. That work needs to be done. We need to make sure this is right, that it fits the criteria, the environmental requirements and the fit-for-purpose programme for farmers. However, mark my words, farmers are interested in it. Anecdotally, Teagasc and other advisers indicate that farmers are reaching out and engaging with the new programme.

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