Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 September 2023
448. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if officials from his Department have carried out analyses on the afforestation files on hand that will be affected by new restrictions relating to peat, high nature value farmlands and extended bird exclusion zones; to detail the overall number of applications affected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41472/23]
View answerThe new €1.3 billion 2023-2027 Forestry Programme is closely aligned with the 2030 Forest Strategy, and is designed to provide lasting benefits for many key areas, including climate change, biodiversity, water quality, wood production, employment and the provision of amenities.
All applicants who have applications on hand have been written to and asked if they wish to opt-in to the new scheme. There are 437 applications on hand that were received under the previous programme. Where the applicant has opted in, the file is being checked by my staff with respect to the new rules.
The new programme has a number of changes that will impact the area available for planting. An analysis has been carried out on the afforestation files on hand that may be affected by the new restrictions. Of the 437 applications, approximately 3% are in areas that will not now be eligible under the conditions of the scheme, as they are within 1.5 km of a Curlew site. Approximately 24% of the applications are entirely unaffected by the changes and the remainder will require further assessment regarding their eligibility as they are in areas where new restrictions may apply and this may affect their eligibility. These applications are either on peat soils, in High Nature value Areas, in Breeding wader areas or a combination of these.
