Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 October 2023
241. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the projected cost of outsourced ecology services to his Department for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47141/23]
View answerThe total cost of services provided by external ecologists for 2024 will be determined by the number of new applications received under the new Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027. While interest in the afforestation scheme in particular does appear strong it is difficult to provide an accurate cost for ecology service this early on in the Forestry Programme. The recent tender for ‘Ecology services to assist in implementing the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Forestry Programme’ did provide a figure of €9m over four years.
