Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 May 2021
193. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 1991 of 24 March 2021, if he plans to have a mandatory professional forester involvement in the proposed planting of trees initiative outlined in his response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27085/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government commits to rewarding farmers for adapting to more sustainable methods of farming and to the development of a new agri-environment scheme capable of delivering broad environmental and biodiversity benefits that will align financial supports with climate objectives. To advance this aim, a pilot project, the Results-Based Environmental Agri Pilot (REAP) opened for applications on 21st April.
REAP is an innovative, ambitious and farmer-friendly pilot that will deliver an important income boost to participating farmers. While the project will support our environmental objectives, it will also support farm incomes by providing a maximum payment of €12,600 to participating farms over the term of their REAP contract. It is a targeted measure for farmers not currently participating in other agri-environment schemes.
REAP is primarily about testing a results-based payment approach for grasslands with complementary tree-planting measures. REAP participants and agents will receive sufficient training and support to allow them to carry out all works involved in the project, including tree planting should it be identified as a complementary action to achieve the objectives of the project. This project will help us identify measures for the next agri-environment scheme where we also intend to have tree-planting measures as part of the suite of actions.
Such proposed actions will, of course, be part of the public consultation on our CAP Strategic Plan.
