Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
1232. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if grants are available for a person on the farm register to remove trees on private land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57165/23]
View answerMy Department does not provide grants for individuals, including farmers, for the removal of trees on private land. However, recognising the importance of managing forests the €1.3 billion Forestry Programme provides a range of measures to support forest owners. For example, my Department will provide funding under the Woodland Improvement scheme and Native Woodland Conservation Scheme to support existing forest owners in the management of broadleaved forests. The Forestry Programme will also introduce on a pilot basis payments for Ecosystem Services with premium payments over a seven year period to existing forest owners who successfully enter the Continuous Cover Forestry and Native Woodland Conservation Scheme.
Details of all schemes available under the new Forestry Programme 2023 – 2027 are available on my Departments website gov.ie - Forestry Grants and Schemes (www.gov.ie)
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine does not offer funding for the removal of roadside trees or for private homeowners living in the countryside with trees in their rural gardens. The Department has, however published guidance on the subject of roadside trees (“A Guide for Landowners to Managing Roadside Trees”) and this can be accessed at the Department website.
Finally, the care and management of trees in rural gardens including those adjacent to roads is the responsibility of the landowner on whose land the trees are growing. It is advisable that landowners make themselves aware of the full legal extent of their land ownership and of any obligations arising from this.
