Written Answers Nos. 234-251
235. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has assessed the extent to which administrative delays continue to affect forestry licensing and scheme approvals. [22696/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra238. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of potential applicants excluded from forestry schemes under the previous farmer definition; and whether the change to the definition was made in response to low participation rates. [22699/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra239. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the removal of the four-year BISS-BPS requirement will significantly increase the number of eligible forestry applicants. [22700/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 235, 238 and 239 together.
I am pleased to have recently published the results of the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027. This process examined areas for improvement such as the removal of barriers to afforestation uptake.
One of the items raised in the MTR related to the Farmer differential (the number of years in receipt of premiums) which is set at 20 years for farmers and 15 years for non-farmers. The intent of this in the Afforestation Scheme 2023-2027 is to ensure that this differential is targeted appropriately. Following the MTR, a simplified definition will now be in place for the remainder of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 which will only require an applicant to pass the Department’s “Active Farmer check” and have received a valid payment under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme prior to the completion of planting. It also removes the requirement for applicants to be a member of BISS in each of the four years immediately prior to planting. This will help to lessen the administrative burden on farm families and reduce barriers for farm succession.
Significant progress has also been made in the processing of licences, with the majority now being processed within the timelines set out in the Farmers’ Charter: 6 months for screened-out applications (not subject to Appropriate Assessment), and within 9 months for screened-in (subject to Appropriate Assessment).
I am confident this will allow my Department to continue to support landowners to plant trees on their land and grow the forestry sector into 2026 and beyond.
242. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether increased grant rates for forest roads will be sufficient to address current delays in timber mobilisation from plantations. [22704/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am delighted to have recently published the results of my Department’s Mid-Term Review of the Forestry Programme 2023-2027. During this process, a thorough review of the existing Forestry schemes and measures, including Forest Roads was undertaken in conjunction with stakeholders.
The Forest Road Scheme provides grants to private forest owners to facilitate the construction of new forest roads. It provides opportunities for forest owners to create and improve access to forests to facilitate maintenance, harvesting and mobilisation of timber.
The Forest Road Scheme caters for optimal road provision, with a grant aid allowance of 25 linear metres of road allocated per hectare of forest served. Following the Mid-Term Review:
• the grant rate per linear metre has now been increased by 20% with Grant Aid now applied at a rate of €66 per linear metre.
• the Engineering Design Support grant for forest owners whose roads may require an entrance from a public road or the material widening of an Existing Entrance has been increased from €1,000 to €1,500
These increases will provide durable infrastructure that will not only cater for timber transport vehicles but will also cater for support vehicles during the lifetime of the forest, should these be needed.
I am confident that these improvements offered through the Mid-Term Review, will provide sufficient support for forest owners to access their forests and to support the mobilisation of timber in Forestry plantations.
245. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the assessment that has been carried out by his Department regarding the long-term resilience of Ireland's current forestry model which is heavily reliant on monoculture plantations, in the context of increasing storm frequency and climate change. [22707/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra248. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has assessed the risk of increased wildfire incidence in Irish forests due to climate change; and whether the current programme design sufficiently addresses this risk [22710/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra249. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the climate resilient reforestation scheme includes provisions to encourage mixed species planting rather than replanting with the same species following storm damage or disease outbreaks. [22717/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra251. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the lessons that were drawn from recent storms in relation to forestry windthrow; and whether his Department has revised planting guidance or site selection criteria accordingly. [22719/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra258. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has conducted modelling to determine the way storm damage, wildfire risk and infrastructure safety measures may impact the long-term viability of the national forestry strategy. [22726/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 245, 248, 249, 251 and 258 together.
In preparing Irelands Forest Strategy 2023-2030 my Department carried out extensive consultation to find out what we as a nation want from our trees. Having a future forest estate resilient to climate change was a key part of discussions.
The shared national Vision for Trees Woods and Forests calls for the right trees in the right places for the right reasons with the right management – supporting a sustainable and thriving economy and society and a healthy environment. Irelands Forest Strategy 2023-2030, with its 87 actions, outlines how we make that Vision a reality. The Forestry Programme 2023-2027 is key to implementing much of this strategy.
The afforestation scheme within the Forestry Programme includes a diverse range of twelve forest types. There is no conifer monoculture option. The forest types available include native woodland forests, agroforestry and conifer forests with a 20% broadleaf component. The percentage of broadleaves in new forests created during 2023 was 54%, which was up from 43% in the previous year. This is the first time that proportion of broadleaves planted exceeded conifer tree planting and demonstrates the increasing diversity within the national forest estate.
The Climate Resilient Reforestation scheme assist eligible landowners in converting their even aged conifer forest to native woodland or a continuous cover mixed conifer and broadleaved woodland after clearfell. The scheme sets out to increase the climate resilience of the national forest estate by expanding the proportion of forest land managed under permanent forest cover using close to nature silviculture.
My Department issues wildfire notices, based on risk factors, to relevant stakeholders during the high-risk period of March to June. In relation to forest road support under the Forestry Programme, water storage ponds and dams constructed close to forest road infrastructure provide open water sources available for firefighting and are supported under the Special Constructions Works measure. Larger strategic storage features located away from surface flight obstructions can accommodate aerial firefighting in high-risk areas, subject to design criteria and approval.
I recently announced a Reconstitution scheme for windblow to provide financial aid to private landowners whose plantations were damaged by storm force winds that occurred during Storms Darragh and Éowyn. It will provide a grant to forest owners for replanting with either conifer or broadleaf species, or a mixture of both. A suite of forest types are available under this scheme. The grant rates offered will reflect the replanting species and will mirror the planting grant rates paid through my Department’s Afforestation Scheme.
Registered Foresters, when drawing up a replanting plan will consider, amongst other things, windthrow risk, soil, species slope aspect and elevation. To assist Registered Foresters during the site assessment stage, COFORD provide a useful windthrow risk modeller. This can be used by Registered Foresters when deciding on the appropriate plan for a specific site. Foresters will also consider disease risk in selecting species. My Department has also funded projects examining species suitability under future climate change scenarios, which is useful to Registered foresters today in making species selections.
I can confirm that both the Climate Resilient Reforestation Scheme and the Reconstitution scheme for windblow include provisions to encourage mixed species planting rather than replanting with the same species following storm damage. The tree species proposed for planting should be chosen according to the suitability of the species to the site and soil.
