Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 June 2021
357. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the persons or bodies that provided forestry and specifically afforestation opportunity integration input into the terms and conditions of the REAP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35076/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra359. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 279 of 27 May 2021, his views on whether the tree and hedge planting will have a significant impact on meeting the climate change objectives; the metrics or targets for these particular activities under the scheme in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35078/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra385. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the anticipated area the 5,000 successful applicants to REAP will afforest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35216/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra386. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total area now sterilised to afforestation in the 5,000 successful applicants to the REAP scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35217/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 357, 359, 385 and 386 together.
As the Deputy may be aware, the REAP terms and conditions state that the land being selected for the project should not be nominated until after the REAP-trained advisor and the farmer have had an opportunity to walk the holding. Similarly, participants will not be able to decide on an appropriate use of the budget for complementary actions (such as tree planting) until the land has been walked.
It is important to note that REAP is a pilot project with specific aims as outlined in the terms and conditions and should not be regarded as a full scheme. One such aim is to raise farmer and Adviser awareness of results based assessments and the potential value of biodiversity and other ecosystem services on their farms. The entire project, including the tree planting complementary action, will be monitored, and evaluated to inform the next national agri-environment scheme.
The project was developed using existing resources available within the Department. As part of the development of the project, a public consultation was held offering any potential stakeholder the opportunity to give their views on the project. Over 1,580 submissions were received during the consultation process.
