Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, will be very familiar with the issue of ash dieback. I appreciate the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, are not present but I know the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, will convey to both of them the points I am about to make. It is important that I get the opportunity to bring this issue up on the floor of the Dáil Chamber.

Decades ago, a previous Government incentivised, encouraged and promoted the planting of ash throughout our island. It encouraged families and individuals to invest in their future so they would something they could rely on as they got older, or perhaps it was that future generations of their family could rely on the monetary rewards they would generate when they eventually felled the ash and it was processed. They were told to do it for their future but they were also told to do it for Irish culture. It was said that this was an important part of our heritage going back to the days of Cú Chulainn and in terms of promoting our national sport of hurling and camogie, and that this would be a vital part of that.

They were told to invest, and there were posters and campaigns to invest in their future. In good faith, people around Ireland invested, be it landowners, farmers, individuals or families. They planted and they got a premium. However, through no fault of their own and with no responsibility on them, ash dieback arrived from the Netherlands, Denmark and potentially the eastern part of Europe. Ash dieback has ripped through our native ash and through some of the most beautiful, natural parts of Ireland, as we can see on the roadsides. It has also ripped through the investments that these individuals and families made. It has not just ripped through the plantations but has ripped through their families and, in many cases, it has ripped through their own mental health because of the impact it has had.

As a State, we have not gone far enough to compensate or to address the issue, and we need to change that. For example, I know of a man who went about clearing and replanting the area of ash he had planted as his future investment. The subsidy and support he was getting from the State was €6,000 and the cost was €16,000, so for this investment that he was encouraged and asked to make, and which he was told to do for his future and for our culture, he is making a massive loss.

The current proposed reconstruction and replanting scheme is not fit for purpose. It provides €1,000 per hectare replanted, which will not go anywhere near far enough. The groups that represent individual landowners and foresters are asking for something more substantial. They are asking for help. They are asking for €7,000 per hectare. At the very least, we need to give them approximately €4,000 per hectare to help them survive and to reward them for believing in the messages they were given by the State and the Government to plant for their future.

I am asking that this be looked at and that the proposed reconstitution and underplanting scheme be redesigned so it is fit for purpose and allows us to replant these areas in order to sequester carbon and help our environment, which is one of the most important issues of all.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta O'Sullivan as an issue seo a ardú. I am taking this matter on behalf the of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, who has a speaking engagement in Longford this evening.

As the Deputy is aware, ash dieback disease has been more devastating in Ireland than Dutch elm disease. It is a relatively new airborne disease that has spread from eastern Europe and is now right throughout the natural range of ash in Europe and widespread in Ireland. Since the first finding of ash dieback disease in Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has provided support totalling over €7 million to owners of ash plantations impacted by ash dieback disease through the ash dieback reconstitution scheme, introduced in 2013, and more recently via the reconstitution and underplanting scheme, RUS, introduced in July 2020. Up to 31 December of last year, a total of 978 applications had been received into the RUS and these cover 3,783 ha. Of this total, 390 applications have been approved. Some 587 remain on hand, covering 2,543 ha, and these are at various stages of the approval process. In 2022, 228 ash dieback projects were approved, covering 1,230 ha.

Like all the other forestry schemes, the RUS expired on 31 December 2022. It provided 100% grant aid to landowners to clear their ash crop, replant with an alternate species and manage their forest until successfully established. For sites undergoing reconstitution under that scheme, forest owners were able to choose to replant with alternative species and the grant rates offered corresponded to the equivalent rate offered in the afforestation scheme. Forest owners still in receipt of afforestation premiums for their forests through the afforestation scheme continue to receive premiums paid at the rate appropriate to the species planted and outlined in the scheme document. Before Christmas, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage introduced legislation to remove the requirement for planning permission for projects less than 10 ha in size that involve the replacement of broadleaf high forest with conifer species. This has simplified the process for a large cohort of applications on hand and the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, understands this will lead to an increase in RUS approvals being issued by his Department when the scheme reopens following state aid approval.

The Government has committed €1.3 billion to support the new forestry programme, which will cover the period from 2023 to 2027. It is intended to continue to offer a reconstitution scheme for ash dieback through the new programme. However, I have noted the Deputy's comments on the rates and will forward them to the Minister. Since taking office, the Minister has visited ash dieback sites. He has seen for himself the destruction caused by the ash dieback disease. He sees it every day in the hedgerows where he lives. The Minister has met representative organisations and individual forest owners and discussed this issue many times. He is more than aware of the genuine concerns among forest owners regarding the RUS and he has committed to reviewing all elements of the scheme to help address the concerns of landowners. He is also aware that the situation with the disease has changed since the time the previous scheme was launched. Silvicultural operations that may have been appropriate in the past are no longer appropriate. The Minister will take all these matters into account, including Deputy O'Sullivan's contribution this evening, in the review of the RUS.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate this comments about my contribution being taken into account and that the Minister will look at this in the review and, I hope, come up with something that is fit for purpose. Earlier this year, I visited forestry in Tipperary with some private forestry owners. It was the first time I was shown the symptoms of ash dieback and what to look out for with ash trees. Ever since being shown that I have seen the disease everywhere. Around my home area in west Cork it is along roadsides. Big, beautiful mature ash trees are slowly dying. This is going to have devastating consequences for biodiversity. It will destroy habitat and our whole landscape will change.

In all that, we cannot forget the impact this is having on families and individuals. It is absolutely devastating. I reiterate that we encouraged people to plant these plantations as forestry. We told them to do it for their future and for Irish culture. They were let down. Ash dieback came to these shores through no fault of theirs. The least we can do is formulate and design a RUS that is fit for purpose and compensates them for the losses they have made. I am encouraged by the Minister of State's comments on reviewing the RUS but this needs to happen fast. These families have been dealing with this disease for years now. I would really appreciate it if we could get some concrete answers and a redesigned scheme so these families and individuals can move on with their lives.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister, I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising the matter. The Minister and his officials are aware that it is very important not just to the Deputy but to forest owners across the island. As I said, the Minister is very familiar with ash dieback disease having visited many sites across the country, and indeed the disease is an issue in his own area. A new forest strategy for 2022 to 2030 has been developed and was informed by comprehensive engagement and consultation over the past year. This matter was raised many times during that process. I will bring the Deputy's remarks to the Minister's attention and ask him to engage with the Deputy further.