Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2022
132. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a report of the reconstitution and underplanting ash dieback scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53241/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the first finding of ash dieback disease in Ireland, my Department has provided support totalling over €7 million to owners of ash plantations impacted by ash dieback disease through the ash dieback reconstitution scheme (introduced in 2013) and more recently the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (Ash Dieback) introduced in July 2020.
The current scheme provides 100% grant aid to landowners to clear their ash crop, replant with an alternate species and manage their forest until successfully established.
This year to date nearly €850,000 has been paid out in site clearance and replanting grants under the RUS Scheme. We received 833 applications in total for 3,161 hectares. Of these 327 for 1,083 hectares have been approved, with one refusal. This means that there remains 505 applications for 2,068 hectares on hand, and I assure the Deputy that we are focussed on dealing with these.
We continue to process to approval those cases which are not affected by the requirement for planning permission. The legislation to remove the requirement for planning permission for Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme projects less than 10 ha in size is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and concerns projects where broadleaves are replaced with conifers.
That Department has completed the first stage in the Strategic Environment Assessment screening process and notified the prescribed statutory consultees on 22nd September 2022. Those statutory consultees have 4 weeks to respond to the notice. An Appropriate Assessment screening process is also currently being undertaken in parallel by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Ecological Assessment Unit. I am hopeful that this legislative change will be put in place once these processes are finalised.
Even where planning permission is not required i.e. in cases where broadleaf replaces broadleaf, we need complete applications and we have in recent weeks sent out 168 further information requests to applicants, predominantly for harvest plans and reforestation maps. These are being submitted and we will process those not in need of planning permission as we receive them.
It is intended to continue to offer the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme through the next Forestry Programme which will cover the period from 2023-2027, and as Deputies will be aware the Programme is currently undergoing public consultation as part of the SEA/AA process. I have of course met with landowners whose forests have ash dieback and I am more than aware of their concerns and I will continue to work to address them.
It may be of interest to the Deputy that my Department is currently preparing a report entitled "Origins of Ash Dieback Disease in Ireland, Lessons to be Learned and Research Update" in response to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Marine report on "Issues Impacting the Forestry Sector in Ireland". This will completed shortly and will include a section on the supports given to ash plantation owners.
