Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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459. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide details of the size and location of land owned by local authorities which is zoned for forestry; and the status of forestry on each site, by local authority, in tabular form. [42705/23]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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502. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide the location, ownership, and size of all public land zoned for forestry in Ireland; and the status of forestry on each site, in tabular form. [42697/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 459 and 502 together.

There is no national map which zones public lands for forestry.

However a new National Land Cover map released at the end of 2022 maps the distribution of different land types. The National Land Cover Map was produced by the National Mapping Division of Tailte Éireann (formerly Ordnance Survey of Ireland) in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The aim of a land cover map is to map what is physically present on the Earth’s surface, for example forests, grasslands, and artificial areas. This Land Cover Map was produced based on 2018 data. The map includes very detailed information on land cover types in Ireland. It will have many uses in environmental assessments on water, climate, air, noise, and biodiversity and will be an important resource into the future.

It is important to note that this map and other datasets held by my Department record the existing forests in the landscape. My Department published an Indicative Forest Statement in 2008 that provides a very high-level guidance in relation to the suitability of land for afforestation. However this map is not suitable for field assessments and does not provide zoning of land parcels for afforestation within public or private ownership.

In addition, my Department recently published the Forestry Statistics Ireland 2023 report which includes information on forest cover and ownership in Ireland.

As regards the treatment of forestry in Local Development Plans by county councils this is is not a matter I would have information on and may be more appropriate for my colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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460. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Questions answered on 20 September 2023 (details supplied), at what time/date in the year the applicant will receive confirmation that they are an approved participant in BISS; if this will act as a deterrent for new entrants to farming engaging in the afforestation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42105/23]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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464. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 740, 744, 748, 754, 760, 772, 773, 776 and 778 of 20 September 2023, and his reply, in stating that he wants to ensure that the farmer deferential benefits farmers directly and exclusively, if other landowners recognised and registered as carrying out a farming activity in other sections of his Department are not actually recognised as farmers by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42157/23]

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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465. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 740, 744, 748, 754, 760, 772, 773, 776 and 778 of 20 September 2023, to provide necessary documentation to show that considerations were made regarding the implications of the farmer definition as it appears in the scheme document, considering the clarifications sought by stakeholders; to confirm that his Department has not changed any of the rules on farmer definition since the launch of the scheme document; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42158/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 460, 461, 462, 464 and 465 together.

The farmer definition remains as published in the scheme document as follows:

Applicants that can pass the Departments Active farmer check and that are an approved member of Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme in the application year and a member of either BISS or Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) in the previous four years will be considered a farmer for this scheme. All other applicants will be deemed to be non-farmers for the purposes of this scheme.

‘Active Farmer’ means the applicant claiming payments on the land must be the applicant farming and/or managing the land, that is, the Active Farmer. The farming activities can include meeting a minimum stocking rate (0.10 livestock unit per forage hectare), producing crops, cutting hay/silage, maintaining landscape features

We have issued clarification on this in terms of new and young farmers. It is the case that new and young farmers who do not meet the criteria to be in BISS or BPS the previous four years will only need to be in BISS or BPS from the year they were approved members of either the Young Farmer schemes or the National Reserve for new and young farmer schemes until the year of their afforestation application. This will continue for the lifetime of the Afforestation Scheme 2023 – 2027. We are currently updating the Afforestation Scheme document and FAQs to reflect this clarification. My Department is happy to continue to clarify the conditions and details of the comprehensive new forestry programme with stakeholders and interested parties and to update relevant documentation accordingly.

The intent of the farmer definition is to ensure that the differential in terms of number of years in receipt of premiums (20 year for farmers, 15 years for non-farmers) is targeted at farmers. The criteria for farmer qualification will ensure that major enterprises that are not core farming entities will not unintentionally benefit from the farmer differential. By virtue of this definition a farmer who submits a valid BISS or BPS is a person farming and/or managing the land. We have received in the region of 125,000 to 128,000 such applications in recent years.

I would clarify that an applicant self-declares as a farmer when lodging an afforestation application. Their status as a farmer will not be verified at approval stage and therefore the timeline for lodging a BISS application, which is usually in May, will not affect the processing and issuing of a licence. This farmer status will be verified at payment stage, once the forest has been planted.

When the number of new farmers for 2023 is known I am happy to inform the Deputy of these official numbers.