Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 May 2018
395. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated additional cost to the Exchequer based on 2017 participation and planting rates on implementing a proposal (details supplied) over a full year. [20052/18]
View answerMost productive marginal land is already eligible for planting and many farmers avail of the generous grants and premiums on offer to plant this land. There are some restrictions on planting land in designated areas and other environmentally sensitive areas. There is also a restriction on the proportion of unenclosed land, Grant Premium Category 1(GPC1) planted, capped at 20% in any one application.
My Department paid for planting of 48.80 hectares of land under GPC1 in 2017. Based on that level of planting, the Deputy's proposal to increase grants and premiums for this category would result in an increase in expenditure of approximately €60,000 per year.
