Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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1110. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of ash dieback RUS licences his Department plans to issue in March and April 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13927/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Since the first finding of ash dieback disease in Ireland, the Department has provided support totalling over €7 million to owners of ash plantations impacted by ash dieback disease through the ash dieback reconstitution scheme (introduced in 2013) and more recently the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS – Ash dieback) introduced in July 2020.

Applications for that RUS are received regularly and decisions are issued as the assessment of the applications are complete. To date, my Department has received 574 applications covering 2,325ha and has issued 178 decisions for 575ha.

The Forestry Licensing Plan 2022 was published earlier this year and deals with projected licensing output and approvals for support schemes and may be found here gov.ie - Forestry Licensing Plan 2022 (www.gov.ie), A key target of the plan is to refocus on the delivery on approvals from the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS) (Ash Dieback). Many RUS applications are screened in for Appropriate Assessment and are referred to ecology. Of these, any that propose replacing the ash crop with conifer species currently require planning permission. My Department is engaging with the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), with the objective of removing the planning permission requirement for these files.

My Department will continue to work with their counterparts in the DHLGH, on progressing these files.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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1112. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the take-up and success or otherwise of the revised Coillte farm partnership arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13931/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Coillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from my Department. I have referred the matter to Coillte for direct follow-up with the Deputy.

Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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1113. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has plans to grant aid a natural impact statement considering the low levels of farmers planting forestry in 2021 in view of the fact that only 390 hectares were planted by farmers in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13932/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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It is proposed to pay an Environment report grant if a report from an ecologist or archaeologist is submitted to my Department as part of an application for an afforestation licence.

The aim is to increase the quality of afforestation applications as they address environmental aspects, to increase the throughput of applications by my Department and to ensure applicants and their agents are reasonably reimbursed for the additional costs associated with the required standard and scope of environmental reports.

Sanction has been requested from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to pay this grant from the end of March 2022.

While supporting the submission of quality applications should help with the issuing of approvals, it is also the case that there are approvals to plant which have not been used. In 2021, approvals for some 4,606 hectares were given for planting whereas 2,016 hectares were planted.

We have on hand some 5,000 hectares approved and not yet planted, and have written to applicants to remind them that their licence is valid for three years from date of issue and to encourage them to consider planting. In addition, we intend to double the number of afforestation licences issued in 2022 to 1,040, which on average would represent 8,000 hectares.

We will also be looking to all involved in forestry to promote the benefits of planting, especially as a complementary activity to farming, and we will be doing our part to communicate this message widely to all parts of society.