Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 April 2022
260. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which the management of forests is being taken seriously with particular reference to the need to ensure that afforestation is an ongoing part of the economy. [18649/22]
View answerAll forestry activities funded under the current Forestry Programme 2014-2020 (extended to end 2022) must be conducted in line with the principles of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). My Department offers attractive supports through the Programme to forest owners to assist them in the creation and management of their forests.
These include generous grants and premiums to landowners who wish to plant forestry through the Afforestation Scheme. The Scheme provides 100% establishment grants with annual premiums for up to 15 years, depending on the species chosen.
Support measures for the sustainable ongoing management of forests, are also funded by my Department. The Continuous Cover Forestry scheme is an alternative forest management approach where the forest canopy is maintained at one or more levels without clearfelling. The Woodland Improvement Thinning and Tending Scheme for broadleaves aims to improve the quality and value of retained trees by removing poorer quality stems and redirecting growth onto better quality ones. Protection of forests is further supported by the Deer Fencing Scheme as excluding deer can help trees to establish successfully. The Native Woodland Conservation Scheme aims to conserve existing native woodland and help to convert conifer stands to native woodland at key locations.
My Department supports Forestry Knowledge Transfer Groups whose aim is to increase the level of forest management activity amongst participating forest owners. The target group are those forest owners that require additional knowledge to help them undertake one or more management activities in their forests. KTGs provide the mechanism for gaining this expertise and empower them to manage their own forest over its rotation.
As the Deputy may be aware, Project Woodland was established in February 2021 to ensure that the current licensing backlog is addressed and that a new impetus is brought to woodland creation in Ireland. A national shared vision for the future of Ireland's trees and forests and a new Forestry Strategy are currently being developed. SFM is a key tenet of the EU Forest Strategy 2030 which will feed into how we shape this new Irish Forestry Strategy. The Irish strategy will recognise the multi-functionality of forests as yielding social, economic and environmental benefits guided by an overarching commitment to SFM. This new Forest Strategy will underpin a new Forestry Programme for the period 2023 - 2027 which will continue to offer supports for the establishment and management of forests in Ireland.
