Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 April 2023
114. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how his Department plans to respond to the six recommendations, 120 to 125, in the Report of the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss that relate to forestry, woodlands and hedgerows; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17870/23]
View answerI welcome the recent recommendations from the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss following the publication of the final report on the work of the Assembly on 5th April 2023.
The report includes 159 recommendations. These include 73 high-level recommendations and 86 sectoral specific actions and priorities. These recommendations and related policy implications, particularly those that relate to forestry, woodlands and hedgerows in a forestry context, are under consideration by my Department at this time.
As the Deputy may be aware, my Department has recently published a Shared National Vision for Trees, Woods and Forests in Ireland until 2050 which was informed by a series of extensive engagements and consultations. This Vision has informed a new Forestry Strategy for Ireland, which has been developed through Project Woodland. An extensive public consultation process on the new Strategy has taken place including bilateral stakeholder meetings early in 2022 which included the nursery sector and Forest Industries Ireland who represent the sector.
In parallel, a draft Forest Strategy Implementation Plan has also been developed to facilitate the initial steps in the implementation of this Forest Strategy. This Plan comprises a list of actions and measures and includes the Forestry Programme for the period 2023-2027, which will be the main implementation vehicle for the Forest Strategy in the immediate to short term.
The importance of having a sustainable supply of plants and forest reproductive material is recognised in the Draft Forest Strategy and within its Implementation Plan. Action 49 in the draft Plan includes the introduction of support schemes to increase the quality and quantity of plants and forest reproductive material. The implementation of this action is accounted for in the Draft Forestry Programme under Intervention 1 (Forest Creation: FT3 Seed Orchards), Intervention 3 (Investment Aid for the Development of the Forest Tree Nursery Sector) and Intervention 4 (Sustainable Forest Management: Seed Stand Management). Taken together these support schemes aim to increase the quantity and quality of plants and reproductive material for use in the forest sector.
Under the new Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) which forms part of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan, farmers who participate in the Scheme choose, at the time of application, from a range of actions that are designed to improve habitats for a wide range of species while also targeting water quality and climate mitigation and adaptation. There are five tree and hedgerow-related actions available to farmers which they commit to carry out on their holdings for five years. The actions specifically relating to hedgerows are planting of new hedgerows and rejuvenation of existing hedgerows through laying or coppicing. While hedgerows are a dominant habitat on most Irish farms, it is noted that the quality of many hedgerows is poor. The inclusion of two specific hedgerow rejuvenation actions in ACRES seeks to improve their quality, extend their lifespan and enable those hedgerows to better support biodiversity in the future.
We will, of course, engage with any follow-up framework for the implementation of the recommendations contained within the Report.
