Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1573. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 706 of 7 March 2023, if he will clarify a number of matters relating to forestry (details supplied). [13456/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to re-iterate that I am acutely aware of the cash-flow difficulties being experienced by some registered foresters and to repeat that the role of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is focused on maximising the volume of work available while continuing our intensive efforts to secure State Aid approval for the most comprehensive and attractive forestry programme ever.

The legal framework and role of my Department is to encourage, facilitate and regulate afforestation and ancillary works amongst farmers and other landowners and this is done through our forestry programme and currently under our interim schemes via general de minimis. In my earlier reply to your question, I indicated that flexibilities in the operation of the interim schemes had been announced as well as an additional interim scheme for ash dieback which was announced last week. This scheme has attractive additional features for the landowner and registered forester alike.

My Department has been in contact with representatives of the forestry industry in relation to discussions by Minister of state Pippa Hackett with the pillar banks, as well as schemes such as the Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme operated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

At the end of last week 118 hectares of new forestry had been grant aided as well as 456 kilometres of forest road. In addition, we have received notification of completion of planting for a further 215 hectares. Thirteen hundred hectares of afforestation (204 applications) have been approved under the interim scheme. I am assured that work on many of these approvals has already commenced and are underway. Approval has also issued for 15,710 m of roads (42 applications).

In addition, those files in the system continue to be processed and will facilitate approvals once state aid is secured.