Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 February 2024
266. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how many hectares Coillte got permission to afforest in 2023, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5821/24]
View answerA breakdown by county of the number of hectares Coillte received permission to plant in 2023 is shown in the table below.
|
County |
No of Applications |
Hectares |
|
Tipperary |
1 |
34.91 |
|
Cork |
1 |
18.32 |
|
Roscommon |
1 |
1.5 |
|
Galway |
1 |
6.93 |
|
Total |
4 |
61.66 |
Historically Coillte were not entitled, under European State Aid rules, to premiums for afforestation. Under new State Aid rules this has been amended and Coillte, along with other public landowners, may now avail of both grants and premiums under the new Afforestation Scheme 2023 - 2027 which opened on 6th September, 2023.
Coillte have recently published their Forest Estate Strategic Land Use Plan 2023-2050 (FESLUP) which sets out their future afforestation objectives.
