Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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396. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated additional cost to the Exchequer based on 2017 participation and planting rates on implementing a proposal (details supplied) over a full year. [20053/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Environmental Requirements for Afforestation guidelines require that up to 15% of the afforestation site must be treated with particular regard to biodiversity, comprising a combination of open spaces and retained habitats and this includes setbacks beside habitats, watercourses, setbacks beside public roads and archaeological monuments that are not planted.

The land set aside as Areas for Biodiversity Enhancement or ABEs, as they are known, are fully eligible for grant and premium payments. Increasing level of ABEs to 35% would not result in additional expenditure for the exchequer but would result in fewer trees being planted which would have a detrimental impact on the targets in the Forestry Programme.

It would also result in lost income for landowners planting their land forest as it would reduce the quantity of timber available for harvesting by up to 20%. I therefore have no plans to change this current requirement.