Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 119: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the steps she is taking to promote wood energy. [21522/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Wood energy has a key role to play in achieving the Government targets for renewable energy as set out in the White Paper, 'Delivering a Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland'. My Department actively encourages the development of the wood-energy sector through a range of support measures. A new capital grant scheme to support emerging enterprises in the wood chip supply sector was launched during the summer. The Wood Biomass Harvesting Machinery Grant Scheme will grant aid the purchase of medium-scale wood chippers and self-contained chippers by providing up to 40% of the purchase price of this equipment.

Under the Scheme, my Department has already this year committed grant aid of nearly €500,000 towards wood biomass harvesting machinery, stimulating an associated investment of some €1.5m in the sector. I am also pleased to say that a second phase of this scheme will be launched in the coming weeks, making a further €600,000 in grant aid available. The additional harvesting capacity created will have a significant impact in assisting developing enterprises in the wood chip supply sector while complementing the Reheat Scheme operated by Sustainable Energy Ireland.

My Department is also supporting a number of wood energy pilot projects which aim to develop models of best practice for wood supply and to encourage increased use of wood fuel, primarily in the form of woodchip. Examples of the pilot projects being funded include the County Clare Wood Energy Project and the Forest Link project in Donegal.

COFORD, the National Council for Forest Research and Development, which is wholly funded by my Department, in association with Teagasc, is running a series of thinning and chipping demonstrations across the country. This is part of the Forest Energy 2007 Programme, following on from the highly successful 2006 demonstration programme. Events have already taken place in Counties Cork, Donegal, Galway, Laois, Limerick and Mayo. A major exhibition of technologies and developments in the wood and biomass energy sectors, 'Bioenergy 2007', was jointly hosted by COFORD, Teagasc and Sustainable Energy Ireland at Oakpark, Co. Carlow at the end of August.

Finally, COFORD hosts and manages a website (www.woodenergy.ie) dedicated to providing factual information on using wood biomass as a carbon neutral, renewable energy source.