Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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168. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason carbon credits from tree plantations are being taken from persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5936/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and related EU legislation, Ireland is obliged to report and account greenhouse gas changes in our forests. The State is operating in the same manner as other EU Member States in this regard.

Forest related projects in Ireland cannot be used to generate credits within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the regulatory carbon market in the European Union. Farmers that are interested in planting trees can receive a grant and annual premium under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Forestry Programme, one of the goals of which is to increase the long term storage of carbon in our forests and wood products. The benefits of planting for individual farmers are enjoyed through the generous grants and premium available, as well as from the value of the crop, which are tax free.