Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 March 2026
704. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of hectares of forestry owned by individual farmers, private companies, Coillte and any other entities at present. [16912/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraLand ownership is verified when processing forestry grant applications. As the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme include an annual income tax free premium payment for applicants, and these are made for a period of 20 years for applicants with farmer status and 15 years for other applicants, the status of applicants is differentiated between farmers and other applicants, which will include individuals and corporate entities.
Coillte CGA was established as a commercial state company with private limited status under the Forestry Act 1988 to become custodian and manager of the national forest estate. Coillte’s purpose is to manage state forests on behalf of the people of Ireland and currently manages 440,000 ha of land, mostly forestry.
The most recent data available estimates that 248,692 HA of forestry is owned by farmers, with other applicants owning 160,532 HA. According to the most recent National Forest Inventory in 2022, 49.1% of forest land is in public ownership (all State-owned forests including Coillte) and 50.9% in private ownership. In addition, 82% of the area afforested since 1980 has been established by farmers.
|
Farmer HA |
248,692 |
|
Other Private Owner HA |
160,532 |
|
Coillte HA |
440,000 |
|
TOTAL HA |
849,224
|
