Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2019
425. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on afforestation contracts as set out by an organisation (details supplied) with regard to the redigitisation of forest areas resulting in farmers' payments being reduced. [17276/19]
View answerIn 2006 my Department introduced a computerised mapping and payment system (iFORIS) which captures a digital representation of all forest areas that are part of grant funded contracts. Capturing the claim map in a digital form allows for the accurate measurement and calculation of the payment area. The process of electronically capturing the claim map is referred to as digitisation.
Digitisation of a forest area is initially carried out following receipt of an application for a forest grant and is based on the claim map submitted by the applicant (or his/her agent/forester). The claimed area is the total area of the forest plots specified by the applicant in the application. The digitised area of a contract (i.e. the entire plantation) is the sum of the areas of the individual forest plots comprising that plantation. For each plot contained in an application for payment, the digitised area is the entire area of the forest plot within the perimeter boundary of that plot measured by the iFORIS system.
The determined (payable) area of a forest needs to be distinguished from the total digitised area for grant payment. During the lifetime of a forestry contract (15-20 years under the afforestation scheme), periodic inspections and desk checks are carried out by the Department to confirm if the initially digitised area still corresponds with the actual size and composition of the forest planted and in accordance with scheme terms & conditions.
The determined forest area is calculated by excluding any ineligible areas (e.g. power line corridors, rock, gas lines, ineligible land, etc.) and may occasionally change due to, for example, the removal of trees, submission of revised mapping data by the applicant (or by the applicant’s agent/forester) or following desk checks against more recent ortho photography. Any difference between the determined area and the area claimed by an applicant requires a case-by-case investigation and the forest area may have to be re-digitised as a result. In cases where the determined area is found to be less than the claimed area or the previous determined area, a situation might arise where grant payments need to be adjusted to the newly determined area.
In implementing inspections, a fair and consistent approach is the objective of the Department at all times, and inspections by Department officers are guided by established standard procedures.
Where an area reduction is made by the Department, the applicant is notified and given an opportunity to seek a review.
