John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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481. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his priorities for Ireland achieving the hugely ambitious forestry targets and the involvement of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund in this capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28474/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s afforestation target of 8,000 hectares per year is set out in the Climate Action Plan. The current Forestry Programme is the largest ever funded Programme to date, which provides attractive financial incentives and a broad range of planting options in order to achieve these ambitious targets. The comprehensive package of measures included in the Programme introduced an increase in forestry premiums of between 46% and 66% and farmers will now receive 20 years of premium payments compared to 15 years for non-farmers. These rates are envisaged to incentivise behavioural change for landowners to engage with forestry.

The signs this year are hopeful in that new planting since January to date, at 1,186 hectares, is more than double what it was at the same time last year. In addition, there are around 6,000 hectares that are approved and not yet fully planted.

My Department has published a comprehensive communication plan to promote the options available to farmers and other landowners. Since the launch of the Programme, my department has engaged in advertising on both national and local radio, placing advertisements and infotorials in the national press, engaged directly with farmers and landowners through leaflets, text messages and four town hall events organised jointly with Teagasc, as well as other events such the National Ploughing Championships and the Tullamore show. Forestry is also promoted through my Department's social media channels on a weekly basis.

My Department has to date, funded forty two projects through an open call for promotion proposals. This level of promotion will continue throughout 2025. I am committed to promoting this valuable land use option for farmers and other landowners.

Coillte is actively contributing to the national afforestation targets and the company has set an ambitious target to enable the creation of 100,000 hectares of new forests in their Forest Estate Land Use Strategy. Coillte will put in place different initiatives to achieve this target, including the creation of mixed woodlands which will be done in cooperation with the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund. Coillte partnered with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), which is state-owned and part of the NTMA, and Gresham House to establish the Irish Strategic Forestry Fund in January 2023. Coillte’s role in this partnership is to source land, to plant new forests and to provide forest management services to the fund. The benefit of Coillte being involved is to ensure the forests are managed in accordance with Sustainable Forest Management standards and they will be open for public access for everyone to enjoy. Coillte will not sell any existing, publicly owned forest to the fund, nor will it seek to purchase any other public land on behalf of the fund.

Afforestation is a voluntary land use for private citizens with constitutional property rights and a range of alternative options for their land. However, my department offers a wide range of generous incentives to encourage people to plant trees and will continue to promote the benefits of forestry and the attractive options now available through every channel available.