Mary Coughlan
Question:550 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if farmers are entitled to headage of £76.13 per hectare on forestry as well as premium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19488/96]
Written Answers. - Forestry Grants.
Under the scheme of compensatory allowances — headage — in respect of forestry, the allowance due to eligible applicants is paid at the rate of £74.13 on each hectare of afforested land, where the afforestation took place between 1 October 1986 and 17 June 1989, both dates inclusive. Three hundred and ten applicants were paid £163,658 under this scheme.
A new forest premium scheme was introduced in February 1990 under which premium rates ranging from £50 per hectare to £300 per hectare, depending on categories of land and trees, are payable where afforestation was completed on or after 18 June 1989. Approximately 3,500 applicants were paid £5.7 million in 1995 under the forest premium scheme.
Compensatory allowances — headage — in respect of forestry are not payable in addition to premium payments on afforested land.