Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
362. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures being taken to ensure that any backlog in afforestation licence applications that result from the delayed forestry programme will be processed in a prompt manner should the application to the European Commission for state aid to fund the forestry programme be successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31824/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the new and ambitious €1.3bn Forestry Programme 2023-2027 will replace the previous Programme which expired at the end of 2022.
The new Programme is subject to State Aid approval under the Guidelines from the EU Commission. It is also subject to an ongoing Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment process, which is well advanced. The previous State Aid Guidelines in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas expired on 31 December 2022 and have now been replaced with a revised version as of 1 January 2023.
The introduction of these revised guidelines meant that a formal application for State Aid could not have been submitted to the European Commission until the revised guidelines were in place, i.e. before January 2023.
The Department has been engaging proactively and intensively with the Commission over the last few months in order to secure approval. Once it is received, we will be in a position to launch new forestry schemes, subject to finalisation of the Strategic Environmental Assessment.
Not all schemes under the Programme require State Aid approval under the Guidelines and on 24 April 2023, under the Agricultural Block Exemption Regulation, my Department opened two schemes for applications, the Forest Roads Scheme and the Innovative Forest Technology Scheme – Module 2 Investment Aid for the Development of the Forest Tree Nursery Sector.
In recognition of the need for forestry activity to continue, and pending the launch of the new Programme, my Department also engaged with the Commission last December to secure an interim solution which has led to the introduction of an Interim Afforestation Scheme, an Interim Forest Road Scheme and an interim Ash Dieback Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme via General De Minimis. This ensured that those with valid afforestation licences issued before the end of 2022 could avail of the current planting season under the higher grant and premium rates proposed under the new Programme.
Likewise, those with valid road licences and approvals under the Ash Dieback Scheme at the end of 2022 could avail of the higher grants and enhanced payment rates as proposed under the new Programme.
While we await State Aid approval, my Department is continuing to process applications that are in the system in the normal manner, progressing to the point just before certification and approval. The aim is to have processed as many grant aid applications as possible so that approvals will be ready to issue as soon as allowable.
As Minister in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I remain fully committed to delivering a fully functioning licensing system which will meet the needs of the sector and of society and which matches the ambition of the new Forestry Programme, which includes keeping resources under review.
