Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Boyhan for his fair and measured observations of the forestry sector.He asked a few more questions than were in his original question but we will see how we get through them.

I welcome the opportunity to update Senators on the progress of the new forestry programme and Coillte's plans to increase afforestation. As Members will know, afforestation levels in recent years have been declining and we recognise that urgent action is needed to address this decline. This is why the Government has committed €1.3 billion to the new forestry programme, with substantially higher payments for farmers than for other landowners. This is the biggest and best funded forestry programme ever introduced by any Government here, and it has been designed to have a greater emphasis on close to nature forestry and to ensure that farmers will be its primary beneficiaries.

The forestry programme 2023-2027 is subject to state aid approval from the European Commission, as referenced by Senator Boyhan. The previous state aid guidelines in the forestry sector expired on 31 December 2022 and have been replaced with a revised version as of January 2023. The introduction of these revised guidelines meant that a formal application for state aid could not have been submitted to the European Commission until the revised guidelines were in place. However, my Department's engagement with the Commission is progressing well. We engaged with it towards the end of last year in advance of this date and we are working intensively to submit the formal application and secure full state aid approval for the forestry programme 2023-2027 as early as possible this year.

While the state aid approval process is ongoing, my Department has introduced an interim afforestation and roads scheme in order that those with valid approvals under the old forestry programme can plant and build roads now. Under the interim arrangements we have put in place, over 7,000 ha of existing afforestation licences can now proceed to planting stage at the rates proposed to be paid under the new programme. Licences for felling and non-grant-aided roads licences will also continue to issue.

While our farmers will deliver the vast majority of our new forests by planting on their land under the attractive new incentives we have put in place, there is also an important role for the State forester, Coillte, in helping to achieve our ambitious afforestation targets. In its new strategy, Coillte has indicated it will support the delivery of Ireland's afforestation targets through a suite of initiatives which will contribute about a fifth of our 2050 targets. As one of a number of models it intends to deploy in order to enable afforestation at a meaningful scale, Coillte has partnered with the Irish Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, to establish the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund. My understanding is that, under this fund, roughly 3,500 ha of new forests will be planted over the next five years. To put those 3,500 ha of new forests in the context of our overall targets for new forests by 2050, the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund will create less than 1% of the forests we need to create by 2050. Coillte will not be selling any existing publicly owned forests to the fund, nor will Coillte seek to purchase any other public land on behalf of the fund.

Coillte has outlined that this fund is one of a number of models it will deploy in contributing to the State's overall forestry targets. Coillte is progressing with planting native woodlands through the not-for-profit Nature Trust, as well as engaging with local authorities and public bodies to identify land already in public ownership suitable for new native woodlands. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and I met with Coillte last week and we have asked it to consider the full range of possible models to deliver on its targets for new forest creation between now and 2050, and to consider how Coillte can work more closely with farmers and local communities.

I would like to be very clear that the primary model by which the State will deliver on forestry is by farmers planting trees on their own land. This is why we have made afforestation an attractive option on farms and designed the €1.3 billion forestry programme to ensure that farmers will be its biggest beneficiaries. Farmers will receive 33% more premium payments than any other landowner under the new programme, in addition to receiving the basic income support for sustainability on forested land, which non-farmers will not receive.