Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The €1.3 billion funded Forestry Programme 2023-2027 provides a range of schemes to support the establishment and management of forests in Ireland. Sustainably managed forests make a significant contribution to the rural economy and contribute to Irelands climate targets by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through sequestration and the storage of carbon in harvested wood products.

It is important to note that an afforestation licence is required for all new forest projects (with the exception of the Native Tree Area Scheme) where the area involved is greater than 0.1 hectares (approximately 0.25 acres). If a landowner wishes to afforest an area of greater than 0.10 hectare either with or without grant aid, they are required to apply for an afforestation licence which must be submitted through a Registered Forester. My Department assesses all afforestation licence applications, i.e. grant-aided and non-grant aided, in the same manner.

My Department does not currently provide funding to distribute free native trees. However, the new Afforestation Scheme, which opened on the 06th September 2023, offers generous incentives for landowners to engage with forestry. It offers a choice of 12 Forest Types, covering a broad range of planting options. My Department covers 100% of the costs to establish these forest types, alongside an annual premium of up to 20 years for farmers, compared to 15 years for non-farmers across most forest types. All payments and earnings are income tax free.

The annual broadleaf target for this Programme has also increased from 30% to 50% of total annual planting. This is reflected in a substantial increase of 66% in premium rates for the establishment of a native forest with €1,103 per hectare available to plant native forests and €1,142 per hectare payable for native forests for water over a period of 15 or 20 years. In addition, the programme contains a new Native Tree Area Scheme, which builds on a recent amendment to the Forestry Act 2014 that removed the licensing requirement for the planting of native woodland in areas not greater than one hectare. This aims to increase and encourage interest in small-scale planting and offers premiums of up to €2,284 for 10 years.

The project referenced may also be interested in the “Call for Proposals for Forestry Promotion Projects” within the Forestry Programme 2023-2027. In order to encourage farmers and other landowners to plant and to raise the profile of forestry as a public good and a commercially viable enterprise, the Department invites applications for funding for projects which support and highlight the multiple benefits of Forestry. While applications for the 2023/2024 period have now closed, new calls will open periodically over the duration of the programme. To date 42 projects have been selected to receive €1.6 million in funding to promote forestry through a variety of approaches.

My Department has contacted the organisation in question directly to discuss this matter and in particular to explain the Forestry Promotions initiative.

Further details of the schemes available under the new Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027 are also available on my Departments website www.gov.ie/en/publication/e384e-forestry-grants-and-schemes/