Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As Deputies will be aware there has been a decline in afforestation in recent years. In 2020 2,434 hectares of land were afforested, with 2,061 hectares and 2,273 hectares in the years 2021 and 2022 respectively. In 2023, there were protracted negotiations with the EU Commission to secure State Aid approval for the new Forestry Programme, which was launched in September. This had an affect on afforestation rates with a total of 1,651 hectares planted.

The new Forestry Programme aims to reverse this decline by offering attractive and diverse options for planting, especially for farmers. This government has committed €1.3 billion to the Programme in order to support our national ambition of 8,000 hectares of afforestation per year. So far 2,154 hectares have been approved for planting under the new Programme and applications for payment are now being submitted and paid on a weekly basis.

The new Afforestation Scheme offers landowners a choice of 12 Forest Types which cover a broad range of planting options including Native Woodland, Continuous Cover Forestry and Emergent Forests. It provides generous incentives to farmers in particular, to re-engage with forestry. These include increases in premium rates ranging from between 46% to 66%, along with a longer premium term of 20 years for farmers, compared to 15 years for non-farmers, across most Forest Types.

Afforestation is a voluntary land use choice for landowners and building confidence among landowners of the benefits of forestry will be key to increasing afforestation rates on recent low trends. In order to encourage uptake we have engaged in extensive promotion of the forestry options available including funding 42 stakeholder projects. These projects will promote the Forestry Programme through a wide variety of approaches and will engage with the wider community to highlight the benefits of forests as a source of biodiversity, enjoyment and inspiration. A targeted media campaign has been underway across all media and will continue throughout 2024.

In addition more than 1,000 people attended 20 Teagasc-led in-person meetings for the public on the new afforestation scheme throughout the country and Teagasc will continue to promote forestry. In addition, we are meeting regularly with professional foresters to provide information and any training needed to apply for the new afforestation scheme and have set up an Afforestation Technical Working Group to address any issues arising.

My Department has the capacity to issue sufficient licences to meet the annual target of 8,000 hectares and we have put additional resources in place to do so. I recognise that planting at this scale is a challenge but believe that it is in all our interests to work towards this target. It will require a concerted and united effort from all those interested in forestry across communities, public bodies, the forestry sector and farmers to make this a reality. I am committed to working closely with all stakeholders to do so and will shortly convene a Forest Strategy Consultative Committee to facilitate further momentum towards increased planting.