Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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48. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for consideration in including Japanese larch under the ash dieback scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25740/24]

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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57. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide details of the newly announced ash dieback scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25772/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 48 and 57 together.

Since the first finding of Ash Dieback in Ireland in 2012, my Department has introduced Reconstitution Schemes to restore forests planted under the afforestation scheme which had suffered from, or which were associated with, plants affected by disease.

Under the new Reconstitution for Ash Dieback Scheme which opened last year site clearance grants were doubled to €2,000 per hectare. Furthermore grant and premium rates under the Scheme were enhanced to the higher levels found in the new Forestry Programme.

In addition the Government has recently approved an Ash Dieback Action Plan to implement the recommendations in the report of the Independent Review Group, which I commissioned. The Action Plan addresses all 13 of the Review Group's recommendations. It provides for, among other things, an additional €79.5 million in funding to pay for a new Climate Action Performance Payment. This payment of €5,000 per hectare is available to those forest owners who fully engage with my Department's reconstitution schemes and carry out replanting. This now brings the overall financial package available to ash plantation owners who are dealing with or have dealt with ash dieback to over €230 million.

As regards Japanese larch my Department is examining the option of giving support to these forest owners through a separate Reconstitution Scheme under the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 which provides for supporting the restoration of forest potential arising from damage by natural events.

My Department continues to issue approvals under the Ash Dieback Reconstitution scheme. Reconstitution Scheme approvals have issued for over 2,300 hectares in the past nine months and applications for a further 1,500 hectares are currently being processed demonstrating increased demand for this scheme.

I want to encourage ash forest owners who have not yet replanted to engage with the enhanced reconstitution scheme as the quickest and most effective way to clear and reconstitute affected sites. This will also enable them apply for the new Climate Action Performance Payment of €5,000 per hectare.