Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 November 2021
399. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the agencies that carry out forestry research; the level of expenditure on such research in 2020 and 2021; the level of funding to be provided for this research in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55385/21]
View answerMy Department, through its competitive research programme, provides a diverse portfolio of competitive funding instruments to address complex and inter-connected challenges and opportunities in the Irish agri-food and forest sectors through research and innovation.
There are 14 research performing organisations that have received funding for forest research from my Department, including Universities, Institutes of Technology, Teagasc, National Botanic Gardens and BirdWatch Ireland.
Expenditure on forestry-based research in 2020 totalled €1,141,873. For the year 2021, expenditure to date is €310,590, with further payments scheduled prior to year-end. In addition, project proposals submitted under the most recent funding Call, DAFM Thematic Research Call 2021, are at a late stage of contract negotiations. Successful projects, some of which may be forest research, are expected to be awarded in December. An advance payment of 30% is made available to successful projects in 2021.
It is not possible to specify the level of funding for 2022, for a number of reasons. Projects funded are in receipt of payments throughout the duration of the project. Payments are determined by a financial evaluation of vouched expenditure and a technical evaluation of annual progress reports. The scale of the funding, per project, varies by the length of the project, with projects ranging from one to five years.
Teagasc, as an agency of my Department, also carries out forest research in addition to the research funded through my Department’s competitive research programme.
