Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 March 2021
1016. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the person or body responsible for representing forestry and particularly afforestation on the present CAP post-2020 consultative committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12832/21]
View answerThe Deputy might be aware that the current Forestry Programme 2014-2020 is entirely exchequer funded and received State aid approval from the European Commission. A request for extension of this State aid approval to the end of 2022 was granted at the end of last year, which means that the current programme will be finished at the same time as the current Rural Development Programme.
As set out in the Programme for Government, this Government is committed to a new national Forestry Programme, following the current programme, which will benefit farmers, the sector, the environment and society at large. We are also committed to better integration between the new National Forestry Programme and the next CAP to ensure that the measures in both complement each other.
The CAP post-2020 Consultative Committee includes all relevant stakeholders that represent organisations and activities that will be part of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan. Many of my Department’s officials who work in forestry related divisions are represented on Department internal working groups and committees in which my Department’s approach to the CAP Strategic Plan are discussed. Through participation in these groups and committees, forestry has been contributing to the briefing on the CAP Strategic Plan draft Regulations aad is helping us to meet our commitment of better integration between these two significant programmes.
