Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree there is a gap there and we need to give foresters and potential foresters the confidence they need to plan the trees we want them to plant. We are all aware of the problems that have occurred in recent years. Some €10 million has been provided to owners of ash plantations affected by ash dieback. More recently, there has been a new reconstitution and underplanting scheme, RUS, was introduced in 2020. As of 4 October, the native tree area scheme is open for applications. It will allow farmers to plant up to 1 ha of native woodland without the need for a licence or up to 2 ha if they have a suitable watercourse. Farmers will be paid €2,000 per hectare tax free each year for ten years under the scheme. It is a great scheme. You do not need a licence, you just plant a hectare of native forest and get €2,000 a year for ten years.

I encourage all farmers to take that up and plant a small part of their land.

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