Patricia Ryan
Question:2164. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to encourage afforestation as a climate mitigation measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44333/22]
View answerThursday, 8 September 2022
Questions (2164)
Written answers
Ireland’s forests play a significant role in climate change mitigation by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The national forest estate is an important stock of carbon, estimated at over 312 million tonnes.
Ireland's existing Forestry Programme and the recently published Climate Action Plan 2021 highlight the importance of forests in removing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Ireland's forests are currently a net sink of carbon dioxide and the timber produced also stores carbon in long-lived harvested wood products.
My Department recognises the importance of maintaining our forest areas, preventing deforestation and increasing the amount of wood used in construction. It also highlights the importance of afforestation.
Ireland's Forestry Programme and the Climate Action Plan 2021 set an afforestation target of 8000 hectares per year which builds on the significant amounts of afforestation carried out since the 1990s. This target is ambitious when compared to recent afforestation rates and will be challenging to meet in the next decade.
However, my Department is committed to addressing the current barriers that have resulted in low afforestation rates. Project Woodland has a number of work streams that are focused on reducing the backlog in licensing, including the recent publication of a regulatory review and an examination work processes.
Key to success in increasing afforestation rates will be building confidence among land owners in the benefits of forestry as well as streamlining the process.
The next Forestry Programme, which is currently being prepared, will see a suite of measures targeted specifically at increasing afforestation levels. The details of the Programme will be released shortly and I also intend to publish a new Forestry Strategy later this year.
The next Forestry Programme and Forestry Strategy will take into account the extensive consultation already carried out at the beginning of 2022, on foot of which over 3, 000 submissions were received. Details of all consultations carried out to date will be published shortly.
I am conscious that some stakeholders are calling for higher afforestation targets in excess of 8,000 ha. However I am also conscious that afforestation is a voluntary land use choice for landowners. Any target that is set must be realistic, and the 8,000ha target is a significant step up from existing levels which reached 2,434 ha last year.