Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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506. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will give consideration to funding the replacement of trees, planted under his Department's afforestation schemes, with biodiverse, native woodland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4769/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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My Department’s current Afforestation Scheme 2023-2027 offers landowners a choice of 12 Forest Types which cover a broad range of planting options. A 20% broadleaf species component is now also mandatory for all mixed forest types, including Sitka spruce, thus supporting increased biodiversity and habitat linkages. We offer a native forest planting scheme and also a small scale native tree area scheme for areas of up to 1 hectare.

Should landowners who planted conifers when they established their forests, wish to replant with native trees after their harvest, they can apply to Element 2 and 3 of the Climate Resilient Reforestation (CRR) Pilot Scheme, which opened in July 2024. Forestry owners who harvest trees are already subject to a replanting obligation. The CRR Scheme aims to provide supports to private forest owners at reforestation stage that incentivise species and structural diversity. It is hoped that this will result in an increase in the resilience and adaptiveness of the forest land to climate-related threats.

The Scheme offers three elements, namely:

1: Reforestation for Continuous Cover Forestry

2: Reforestation for Native Woodlands

3: Reforestation for Biodiversity and Water Protection

The CRR Scheme has been launched on a pilot basis and is available to private forest owners whose forests are ready to be clear-felled in the coming years and in circumstances which suits their requirements.