Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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780. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether there is an unfair bias against farmers who planted forestry before 2002 and in effect are unqualified for the basic farm payment scheme (details supplied); his further views on whether the absence of a proposal to compensate farm forestry owner for the carbon credit element on standing forestry needs to be rectified. [17293/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme is an income support paid directly to farmers, which is 100% funded under EU Regulation. Applicants are paid per hectare of eligible land farmed and for which they hold payment entitlements. Historic iterations of this scheme would also have governed the criteria applicable at the time as to whether land was eligible or not under the EU Regulations in force at the time.

However, under the 2025 BISS Terms and Conditions, land which was afforested since 2009 and land which will be afforested in 2025 will be eligible to draw down a BISS payment in 2025 provided that the afforested land meets the appropriate requirements. While the terms and conditions of the scheme provides guidance to applicants, EU regulation forms the definitive basis for the scheme administration, particularly in relation to eligibility.

Article 4, (4) C(iii) in EU regulation 2115/2021 defines this forestry eligibility rule. In order for land to be deemed forestry eligible, it firstly must have been declared on a 2008 Single Payment Scheme (SPS) application and have been given a right to payment under said scheme.

Work is ongoing in the area of carbon farming at both at EU and national level. The EU Commission has developed a carbon removals and carbon farming regulation (CRCF) which will create the first EU-wide voluntary framework. The Commission is in the process of establishing tailored EU certification methodologies for different carbon removal activities, including forestry. My Department are engaged with the Commission on this process, in order to ensure that the methodologies developed have applicability for forest owners in Ireland.

At national level, my Department is leading the development of a Carbon Farming Framework to support putting farmers, landowners, and foresters at the centre of meeting our National Climate objectives. Work is ongoing in this area with a view to delivering a National Framework for Carbon Farming in Ireland, as outlined in the recent Programme for Government.