Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, an amendment to the Forestry Act 2014 has passed through the Houses of the Oireachtas through the vehicle of the Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022.

On 4 April 2022, the new legislation was signed into law by the president. This amendment was necessary to remove the licensing requirement for the planting of native woodland in areas not greater than one hectare. It is my objective to increase and encourage interest in small scale planting and I am confident that this change to the Act will remove a barrier to such planting.

The exemption for the creation of up to one hectare of native woodland would be available through a scheme which my Department now intends to design and implement. The involvement of a professional forester is something that will be considered in the design phase. The development of the scheme will be undertaken following the completion of a Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment, subject to the findings of both assessments and be subject to a public consultation.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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ACRES is Ireland's new agri-environment scheme proposed as part of Ireland's new CAP Strategic Plan for the 2023 to 2027 period. This new €1.5bn scheme will be farmer-friendly and designed to address biodiversity, climate, air and water quality challenges. ACRES will also provide income support for up to 50,000 farm families.

ACRES applications will include a Farm Sustainability Plan (FSP) to ensure that approved applications achieve the best possible environmental return. This online function is hosted on the Department's GLAM system and is now available for advisors to begin the process of preparing farm plans in advance of the ACRES opening in October.

Each advisor will work with their clients to choose the most appropriate actions for their holding and to ensure these actions are in the most appropriate locations. Chosen actions will be mapped by advisors on the FSP / GLAM portal.

The FSP portal gives a view of mapping layers that will enable advisors and their clients identify essential on-farm features. In preparing the ACRES FSP advisors will choose actions from a menu listed in the ACRES specifications. There is no requirement for advisors to map existing forestry.