Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
366. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 and the impact of delivering same, given the delays regarding a formal State aid notification by the EU Commission to Ireland; if he will set out details of any additional information required by the EU Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31852/23]
View answer373. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the six-month delay in the Government publishing the Forestry Programme for 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31897/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 366 and 373 together.
As the Deputies are 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 01 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 finalization of the Strategic Environmental Assessment.
