Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will be giving this certainty. The situation now is that the strategy has been published.A public consultation is ongoing and will be completed by the end of November. We have not yet published information on the grant aids and premiums that will be in place from January 2023. We are finalising those with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. What is clear is that they will be attractive and higher than the outgoing scheme. The engagement we are having is about the size of the overall funding over the course of the programme and, therefore, how strong the rates can be. We want to give that clarity in advance of January.

The new programme will start in January. I know it is proving to be a challenge because people are reluctant to start planting before the new programme comes in as they know the rates are likely to increase. However, it will be a strong and good story for the sector. We need to instil confidence and drive it on. We want people to plant. We want new afforestation to drive on from January. We will give clarity in advance of January as to the rate. Like everything, it will be subject to state aid approval and needs approval from the Commission. We cannot give a black-and-white answer and a 100% guarantee, but we expect approval to come.

Once we can provide clarity on the rates we are planning to set, people will know and understand the system. The rates will be higher. I advise people who are thinking about applying to plan and work ahead on the basis that the rates will be published in advance of January and they should plan to be in a position to do that work. We need to increase our afforestation rates. It is a massive priority for the Government and we will back it financially to drive it on.

We have worked hard to address the backlog in licensing, which is undermining confidence. The backlog is reducing every week and we are driving it down. We are almost at the stage of equilibrium. We want new afforestation applications in particular and we will back that with grant rates. We will try to provide clarity on what they will be as soon as possible, and certainly in advance of 1 January 2023.